


The Island

by KingSholto



Category: Glee, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Crossover, Independent!Harry, M/M, Magical Creatures, Mysterious Island, Plane Crash, Surprise Fandom Tie-ins, mythological creatures
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-26
Updated: 2014-08-23
Packaged: 2018-01-20 21:39:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 60,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1526708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KingSholto/pseuds/KingSholto
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A plane carrying two groups of teenagers from London to New York crashes, stranding the survivors on a magical island.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a Glee/Harry Potter crossover. I did not create or imagine any of the recognizable characters myself, but I am very glad that the people who did are nice enough to let me play with them.

After the Battle at Little Hangleton, life was slowly returning to what passed as normal. People went back to work, students went back to school and the wizarding world was on the mend. Harry was a hero with a bright future mapped out before him. The only problem was he didn't want that life for himself.

After defeating Voldemort, being an auror just held no allure anymore. He didn't know what he wanted to do with his life, but Harry knew he didn't want to spend his life catching bad guys and he most certainly did not want to end up like Mad-Eye. Harry had spent the first seventeen years of his life fighting one thing or another and he didn't want to spend the rest doing the same.

Harry had changed before anyone could realize it. With the weight of the prophesy gone, and being free from his 'family', for the first time in his life Harry was able to choose his own path and future. The only downside was that his friends did not see his changes in the same light that Harry did. The were not mad at him, but they had slowly begun to drift apart.

Harry wanted to travel, do the things he had dreamed about on the Endless Camping Trip. On those sleepless nights he had thought about all the places he wanted to visit someday, thinking he would never have the chance. When the day after the battle came and Harry was still alive, it hit him. Harry was alive, and he wanted to _live._

Unfortunately Hermione had other plans. Harry had to sit through several lectures before Hermione pulled out the big weapons. Really, going to Mrs. Weasley was hitting below the belt. The woman was a master at the guilt trip, and Harry couldn't figure out how the twins had managed to escape her. He was betting on a built up immunity over time. So Harry had reluctantly agreed to go back to Hogwarts and finish his seventh year.

But now here he was on his first time out of the UK. True, it wasn't how he pictured it. For instance Harry had not expected to be in the company of Draco Malfoy or Snape on his trip but still he was traveling to distant lands.

Technically, it was a field trip for their History of Magic class, but to Harry it still counted. All seventh years were given the option to take a trip to the site of infamous Salem Witch Trials or visit the pyramids in Egypt. Most of the seventh years had chosen Egypt for their trip because they could take a portkey while those traveling to America were going to have to use muggle transport because International portkeys were banned for people with the Dark Mark. Even Harry thought that was unfair, seeing as Snape and Malfoy had been pardoned after the war.

While Hermione and Ron had chosen Egypt, Harry decided to visit America. Salem was further away, so there was less of a chance of Harry being recognized. He wasn't alone though, Harry was joined by Neville and Luna. Neville had chosen the U.S. because there was a Herbology conference going on during their visit, and he had gotten permission to attend. Harry didn't really know why Luna had chosen to go with them, but he assumed there was a creature involved.

In the end only 6 students including Harry had signed up for the trip. Besides Harry, Neville, Luna and Malfoy there were two Hufflepuffs that Harry did not recognize so he figured they must have been in Luna's year.

As Harry watched Malfoy berate the flight attendant he tried to figure out why he had gone on this trip when he could have just Floo'd to Egypt with the rest of the Slytherins. He couldn't believe it when Malfoy called the attendant a servant and had to stifle a giggle at the look on the woman's face. As she turned to walk away Harry caught her eye and motioned her over.

"I'm sorry about him ma'am. Malfoy has always been a bit... sheltered from the real world." Harry didn't want the woman thinking their whole group was like Malfoy.

The flight attendant smiled at him. "Don't you worry about it sweetheart. I run into people like him everyday in this profession. But its worth it."

"I bet it is. I can't even imagine all of the places you would be able to see in a job like this. I'm envious. This is my first time out of the UK."

"It sure is honey. And New York is a great place to visit. You're going to have a great time. I've got to finish my rounds, but maybe if you have time later I'll come back and give you some advice on some truly spectacular places to visit while you're there," the woman said.

Harry beamed up at her. "I would love that ma'am. Thank you so much. We'll be right here if you have the time."

As the flight attendant walked away Harry was deep in thought. Maybe a career where he could travel was the key. Harry had enough money between his parents and Sirius that he didn't need to work, but he imagined he would get bored after a while just traveling by himself. None of his friends were interested in being his traveling companion besides maybe Ginny. But after he had finally broken up with her, he just wasn't comfortable giving her any false hope.

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry caught sight of something small heading toward his head. With years of practiced ease Harry reached out and grabbed the object before it could make contact. After seeing it was a paper ball in his hand, Harry looked around to see who had thrown it.

Across the seats in the center of the plane Harry could see a tan boy with a mohawk on the opposite side of the plane staring at him, surprised. Harry grinned, he knew those years as a Seeker would have application in the real world. Harry glanced around quickly before sending the paper back at the boy, hitting him on the forehead. Harry threw his head back and laughed at the astonished expression on the boys face. The handsome boy then smiled at Harry while the group of teens around him laughed.

**_"Ladies and gentlemen, the Captain has turned on the fasten seat belt sign. We are experiencing a bit of turbulence. Please return your seats and keep your seat belts fastened. Thank you."_ **

Harry did as the pilot instructed as the plane began to shake violently. He could hear people talking loudly, Malfoy's voice being the loudest demanding answers. The teenagers on the other side of the plane were screaming as well but Harry couldn't make out their words.

Harry turned to look at Snape for guidance. He had his wand but he didn't know what magic could do to help, without making it worse. Magic and technology were a notoriously bad mix. Snape seemed just as unsure as Harry. As Harry opened his mouth to ask Snape the pilot came back on the loud speaker.

**_"Attention passengers. Please remain calm. The turbulence will be over in a few moments. If you require any help please ask the nearest flight attendant for assistance."_ *CLICK* _"I don't know what's going on Stevens. The instruments aren't responding, we are off course, and the engines being taxed too heavily. Fuck! We are going down. Mayday Mayday British Airways flight 626. We were just stuck by lighting. All guidance is down. We are off course and going to hit the water. Mayday, is anyone out there. Shit! I think the radio's down. Stevens, prepare for imp-"_**

As the plane fell out of the sky, Harry couldn't help but think this was the end. He had survived everything only to have his first vacation was going to kill him.


	2. Chapter 2

After the chaos of the crash, Harry couldn't remember exactly how he ended up on the island. It was all a jumble of screams and lights with just a dash of utter terror. It seemed like only a moment later when Harry opened his eyes and the difference was startling. It was quiet, the only sounds coming from the waves as they crashed against the sand.

Harry wasn't in much pain, so that was a good sign. He sat up and took stock of his surroundings. Harry's clothes were torn and a bit bloody from the crash, but luckily he only had a few scrapes and cuts. He was on a wide sandy beach, and was still day time as the sun shone brightly in his eyes. Behind him was a vast jungle with mountains that looked like it took up most of the island on which he had washed up. There was no plane, so they must have crashed in the water and somehow floated to the beach.

There were other people lying on the beach, some moving others completely still. Harry stood and stumbled his way over to the nearest person to see if he could help. The Asian boy laying on the sand looked to be about Harry's age and was bleeding from his leg where it looked like a piece of metal had pierced the skin. Harry reached for his wand, and thanked Merlin that he had been given a crash course in first aid before the final battle. Hermione had insisted the DA take time to learn in order to help keep people alive until a qualified healer could reach them.

As he removed his wand from its sheath against his forearm he quickly glanced around for anyone watching. Harry didn't know the International Statute of Secrecy had to say about this situation, but he doubted anyone would be angry at him for saving Muggle's lives. With a quick stasis spell to secure the area, he yanked the metal out of the boys leg and cast a healing spell to help close the wound. If were a real healer he would be able to close it all together because it was too deep, but the best he could do was speed up the healing, stop the bleeding and prevent it from becoming infected. Harry tore a strip of of his shirt and tied it around the now clean and healing wound to keep sand from getting inside. A quick scan showed there was nothing more Harry could do and the boy should wake up soon, so Harry moved on hoping to come across someone from school.

There weren't nearly enough people on the beach to be everyone on the plane, and Harry's stomach clenched at thought fearing the worst. With the next three people he passed that feeling grew worse. Their injuries were far worse than the first boy, and they had died. By this time a few others were moving around helping where they could, and others were crying. Harry came across another boy, this one awake, who was trying to stand but kept falling and groaning as blood fell down his face from his head. As Harry approached he recognized the boy that had thrown something at him on the plane what seemed like ages ago.

As the teen stumbled again Harry reached out and grabbed his arm to help lower him to the ground. "Just stay seated for a moment while I look you over. You're not gonna do any good hurting yourself more."

The glared at him. "I've got to find my friends, dude. They were near me on the plane. We got separated after- what the hell are you doing?"

Harry had been casting scanning spells at the teen while he talked. "You've got a fractured ankle and a pretty deep cut on your head. I can fix it but its going to hurt. Just stay still. Don't move. _Ferula. Episkey._ Now, you've already lost a good deal of blood. So take it easy," he told the boy. "If you need help, come find me. My names is Harry. I've got to go find my friends too. Good luck," he said before moving away, ignoring the dumbfounded look on the teens face.

"Puck."

Harry turned back to the boy, "What?"

"My name, it's Puck."

"Ah well, Puck, I helped a boy about our age a few minutes ago. He might be one of the ones you are looking for. He was still out when I left him, but I did what I could and he should be waking up soon. He's right over there," Harry told him while pointing at the point who sure enough was beginning to stir. Harry began to move away again and got a few feet before Puck called out.

"How did you do that!"

"Magic," Harry shouted back without turning around,. He heard Puck scoff and make his way over to his friend.

Time flew by as he made his way through the passengers, helping those he could. He really hoped that magic was allowed to be used in a situation such as this, because more than just Puck saw him healing people. When they asked he just talked around the question and people were more concerned with being healed than interrogating him for which he was lucky.

Harry's luck ran out when he came across of the the Ravenclaws. The boy had died before help could find him. Harry became frantic to find his friends, but they weren't on the beach. At this point he would have been glad to see Snape. He did find another of Puck's friends, a tall boy whom he pointed in the right direction after healing.

By the time he was done Harry was exhausted. Thirty people had washed up on the beach along with him and ten had died either in the crash or from their wounds. Besides him and the other three teens, the other survivors were adults and he had been needed to heal most of them. He hadn't had a moment to think, he wasn't sure the situation had entirely hit him yet.

It had only been an hour maybe two since Harry had awoken on the beach but the sun was lowering in the sky and just as he had collapsed in the sand, one of the men called out.

"Attention! Everyone gather around. We need to figure this out."

Harry struggled to his regain his feet, and was about to collapse again when someone grabbed his arm hold him up. Harry looked up to see Puck. "Are you alight, man? Can't you just fix yourself like you did everyone else?"

"I'm fine. Just tired." Harry replied. He stepped away from Puck, only to feel his legs wobble precariously.

"Here, I'll help. Just put you're arm over my shoulder."

"Thanks," Harry gave a tired smile in thanks and they made their way over to where the group.

"Nah thank you. You fixed me, Finn and Mike. It's the least I could do. Did you find of you're friends?"

Harry looked away. "No. I did find a boy from my school, but he didn't make it."

"Oh. Uh... you can sit with me and my boys of you want," Puck offered.

"Thanks." Puck lowered Harry to the sand near the two boys he had met earlier before taking a seat beside him.

The man who had beckoned everyone over stood as the rest of the crash survivors sat around in groups, some still making their way over. Harry noted that the man was average height with short black hair and held himself with an air of authority. This was a man who was obviously used to giving orders and having them followed. Harry had met men like that in the aurors, and the meetings had not gone well. His unfortunate habit of clashing with 'authority figures' extended to them. He hadn't really blamed them too much. Harry realized it must have been difficult for a seasoned professional to depended on a teenager to defeat someone they were unable to. He really hoped he would not have the same problem with this man.

"My name is Mark Logan and I am an Air Marshall. First things first. Is anyone hurt? I do have EMT training."

There were murmurers to the negative when one woman spoke up. "I had a broken arm, but that boy fixed it. Craziest thing I ever saw. Just waved his stick spoke some funny words and it was all better." Most of the people nodded, some murmuring in agreement.

Logan turned to Harry as if just noticing him for the first time and inspected him carefully before his eyes lit with recognition. "Potter?" Logan gasped.

Harry winced. "Uh...yes?"

"Ah. Well that explains it. I'll talk to you after everything gets settled." Logan turned back to the other survivors. "Nothing to worry about. Now, time is of the essence. Since no one is hurt, we need to be ready for night time. I'm going to need volunteers to set up a temporary shelter, and some to collect food and water."

"Where are the other passengers? My wife was on the flight but she isn't here. I must have blacked out or something, because I was listening to the pilot on the over system and the next moment I was waking up on the beach. Me and some of the others have been looking around and haven't found anything. No plane, no people. Nothing. Where are we? Where is everyone else? Are they alive?" The young man was speaking quickly shooting out questions rapid fire towards Air Marshall Logan.

"At this time I don't know any more than you do about the other passengers. It is possible they are on another part of the island, but we don't know anything about this land. It would be dangerous to go wondering through the jungle this late in the day which is why I suggested making camp for the night. Tomorrow we will begin looking for the others. There was homing instruments on the plane, so people have most likely been alerted to the distress call and sent out search parties. All we have to do is survive until they reach us. Now, I'm going to set up teams to start finding supplies. For safety, try not to wander more than 50 feet into the jungle."

As Logan began to dish out responsibilities, Puck turned to Harry. " Dude, are you like a criminal or something? Is that how the cop knew you?"

Harry snorted. "It depends on who you ask and on what day. As for how he knows me I honestly have no idea. I don't think I've ever met him before."

The tall teen on the other side of him spoke up. "Can you really do magic like Puck said? Like a wizard or something," the boy asked with just a hint of wonder on his face.

"Yeah, I can actually. I don't know if I'm supposed to tell people though you can you guys mind keeping it quiet?"

Puck snorted. "Isn't it a little late for than, bro? I mean you magic'd like half the people on the beach."

"You would be surprised at what people can pass off as normal," Harry told the boys thinking of all the times he got caught doing accidental magic before Hogwarts.

"Sure, man. No problem. Can you show us more?" The teen practically radiated excitement.

It was the Asian boy who he first came across came to his rescue. "Calm down, Finn. The guy is obviously tired. I'm Mike by the way."

Harry smiled tiredly at Mike. "Hey Mike. I'm Harry. How's your leg feeling? I did the best I could, but you're gonna have to keep the bandage on for a few more days. I can take another look at it tomorrow, maybe change the bandage so you're not wrapped up in my shirt."

"Sounds good. It feels great actually. There's slight pain, but nothing too major. Thanks for that, man. If it had hit my femoral, I would have been a goner for sure."

"It did actually. It was lucky you were the first one I came across after I woke up. You lost a lot of blood like Puck here, but I can't fix that. So try to not do too much," Harry advised both of the boys.

"Well since I can't see anything magic yet...right?' Finn asked with a look toward Harry who nodded. "Yeah. So since I cant see anything cool, I'm gonna go help find food." With that the tall teen bounded off to join some of the others who had assembled.

Harry allowed himself to collapse backwards until he was lying on his back looking up at the sky. "This was my first ever vacation, you know? I was supposed to be uneventful, peaceful even," Harry told the boys with a sigh.

He felt more than saw the other teens lay down in the sand on either side of him before Mike spoke up. "This wasn't my first. But it was our last as high school students. We had a singing competition last week in London."

"You guys are singers?" Harry asked a little surprised.

Puck turned his head and grinned at Harry. "Yeah, I know. What is my sexy badass self doing in a singing competition, right?"

"That wasn't exactly what I was thinking, but you blokes don't really seem the type."

"We weren't at first. We were all on the sports team then it just sorta happened I guess," Mike told him. "And the rest was history."

"Did you guys win?"

"Nah. But it was awesome to see a new country. You got some hotties over there, man."

Harry laughed at the mohawk'd teen. "Yeah, I really wouldn't know."

"What! Why not?"

"I've been busy. No time for dating really."

"There's always time to get laid, bro. What could be more important than that?" Puck actually looked serious.

"Puck, not everyone sleeps around," Mike chimed in.

"Puckzilla needs to be shared, man. It would be criminal to keep the ladies from Puckasaurs."

Harry and Mike burst out laughing while Puck just said "What? It's true."

The situation was incredible. Here he was laying on a beach with a couple of guys talking about sex. One could almost forget that he was recently in a plane crash.

A shadow fell over the teenaged boys and they looked up to the Air Marshall standing a few feet away looking at Harry.

"Uh, Mr. Potter, Sir? Could I have a word, please?"

"Sure."

When Harry didn't move, Logan added, "In uh...private. Sir."

Harry sighed and stood, the other boys sitting up looking at Harry curiously. "I'll be back in a bit guys."

Logan led Harry down the beach a ways before the nervous man turned to face him.

Harry spoke first. "So who are you and how do you know me?"

"I'm an American Auror, sir. We all know who you are. I was on the plane because there were marked Death Eaters traveling. Even though they were pardoned the President of Magic felt safer if we had a presence on board. Are you going to be taking lead, sir?"

"No, I assume you were trained for situations such as these?" When Logan nodded Harry continued. "I'll help where I can but I have no problem leaving you in charge. Three things though?"

"Anything for the Savior, sir."

"Make that four things. Number one, just call me Harry. Number two, are we allowed to reveal magic in this situation? Number three, do you have your wand? And last, no offense, but I need to see your left forearm," Harry informed the auror.

Logan rolled up his sleeves to reveal bare forearms without argument. "I will only call you Harry, sir. And while we can use magic to save lives, we should try to keep muggles from knowing it is magic. We usually use the excuse of a government technology and the muggles seem to accept it. And as for my wand, I lost it in the crash, sir"

Harry pointed to a spot down the beach. "One a the victims was a student. You might want to check for a wand. It won't be perfect, but at least it's something."

Logan looked sad, but nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Also those blokes I was sitting with know about magic, but they seem a decent sort and promised to keep it quiet. Now, its too far to apparate off the island, but do you have a way of getting a message out?"

"No, sir. We use owls in the department."

"Alright, I'll think of something. And stop calling me sir," Harry commanded.

"Yes, sir."

Harry blew out a frustrated breath. "Is there anything else right now?"

"No, sir."

"You go do what you need to do. Find me if you need something. Otherwise you are in charge, got it?"

With that Harry started to make his way back to the teenagers on the beach. When he got closer he saw that Finn was back and there were a few oranges scattered between them and they looked up as he approached.

"Hey, you guys wanna see some magic?"


	3. Chapter 3

Puck's official 'Worst Day of My Life' title was held by the day Beth was born and then taken away. The second worst was the day his father left. The day he was in a plane crash was a close third though.

The whole day had been one big fail really. Their group had been detained at the airport because Coach Sylvester had tried to give one of the security officials a pat down, claiming only she knew how to do it right. So while Mr. Shue's group made it on the plane, they had to wait for a later flight.

By the time they made it on the flight everyone was ready to kill each other. Kurt and Finn had gotten into an argument over just how much money Kurt had spent while in London and whether or not Burt would kill him when he saw the credit card bill. Mike and Tina were having some lovers spat over some girl in the terminal. Puck was just tired of the constant bitching.

The first half of the plane ride wasn't so bad. Puck wasn't really disappointed when his half assed attempt to talk the hot flight attendant into a quickie in the bathroom failed. He quickly got over it when he decided to mess with the cute guy sitting directly across from him on the opposite side of the plane. The dude was looking far too serious, something that Puck did not approve of. That plan was ruined too when instead of getting angry, the guy used some sort of secret ninja skills to show him up in front of his boys!

When he had woken up on the beach hurt and alone Puck was actually scared, not that he would ever admit. When the hot ninja guy from the plane came up and fixed his wounds Puck was a little freaked out, but the prospect of finding one of friends was more important at the time.

Puck didn't want to be cruel, so he didn't say it out loud, but out of all the people to be stuck on an island Puck was glad it was them. Finn had been his best friend since they were kids and Mike had really come out of his shell in the last few years and they had become bros after Puck joined glee and became less of a douche.

After he had found Mike and Finn he told them about what Harry (a.k.a. hot ninja guy) had done but they didn't really believe him until Harry confirmed it later on the beach. When Harry walked away with the plane cop Puck turned to Mike.

"What do you think that was all about, dude?" Puck asked.

"No clue. Weird though, right? The Air Marshall almost looked afraid of Harry."

"Do you think he really is some sort of criminal? Like a international spy kid or something?"

"This isn't a movie, Puck. That doesn't happen in the real world," Mike told him with a roll of his eyes.

"Whatever, man. You saw that guy, he was scared shit less, plus he called a teenager 'sir'. Why would he do that? Besides the kid has magic, that isn't possible in the real world either. I don't think it would be impossible for him to be a spy."

"He's our age, Puck. I doubt they would let him be a spy!"

"I don't know, man. Remember how he said he had no time for getting laid. I mean look at the guy! No way someone that hot never gets any. Unless of course he's out killing people and being a spy!"

"Yes, Puck. That is obviously the only explanation," Mike replied sarcastically. "And what's that? Someone has the hots for the magic man," Mike asked with a grin.

"Oh, shut up. I don't have to have the hots for him to see he's fucking sexy. Did you see those eyes?"

"Yes, but unlike you I am straight."

Finn came walking over with an arm full of oranges, tossing them into the sand between Mike and Puck before plopping down and starting to peel one.

"What are we talking about," Finn asked.

"Puck wants in Harry's magic pants," Mike stated at the same time Puck said, "Nothing."

"Really, Puck? We were just in a plane crash and woke up on an island and all you think about is sex?" Finn asked before laughing with Mike.

"No! I never said that! Besides you both know I don't sleep around anymore. Not after the whole thing with Sebastian," Puck told them seriously.

Both teens stopped laughing and Mike reached out a hand to grip Puck's shoulder. "I know, man. We were just teasing. Trying to lighten the mood, you know?"

"Oh, here he comes! Do you think he will show us now?" Finn asked, bouncing excitedly as he ate his food.

"I don't know, man. I guess we're about to find out," Mike told him just as Harry came to a stop beside them.

"Hey, you guys wanna see some magic?"

"Yes!" Finn shouted loudly before turning red and coughing. "I mean- yeah, sure. I guess that would be cool."

The three other teens laughed while the boys stood up and brushed the sand off themselves. Finn scooped up the remaining food and offered an orange to Harry, which he accepted.

"Alright, but we have to move away from everyone else. I guess I'm not really supposed to let people know about magic. So I guess you really shouldn't mention it to the others," Harry told them as they began to walk down the beach.

"Yeah, we told you, no problem, bro. Your secret is safe with us," Puck told Harry. "Right guys?"

"Of course."

"No worries."

"Thanks." The boys walked in silence for a few minutes eating their oranges, before Puck spoke.

"You know, that really was the most cheesy pick up line ever," Puck told Harry.

"I'm sorry, what?" Harry asked with a confused look.

"'You wanna see some magic?' No wonder you don't date! You don't have any game!"

Harry laughed, and then grinned at Puck. "I don't know about that. One line and I got three hot guys trailing after me. I think that's pretty good, don't you?"

Puck and Mike laughed while Finn suddenly went silent. "Oh, man. I'm sorry, I'm straight. Did I give you the wrong vibe? I'm always doing that! I didn't mean to lead you on, dude."

"Finn! Chill! Harry was joking," Puck told him while Harry just looked on with an amused smile.

"Oh! I knew that. It's just that Kurt-" Finn cut off suddenly looking very sad.

"It's alright, man. They weren't on the beach. They could be somewhere else on the island, we don't know anything bad happened," Mike tried to console the tall teenager.

"Kurt is Finn's brother. He was behind us on the plane, along with Mikes girlfriend Tina," Puck told Harry.

"Some of my friends from school were on the plane too along with a teacher. They have magic. If our friends ended up on another beach together like we did they will be okay. Just like we will. Speaking of which, that is the reason we are out here. I'm going to send a message for help. We have gone far enough I think."

Finn was back to looking excited at seeing magic and Puck threw a grateful look to Harry who nodded in acknowledgement.

"Alright. This is probably the my favorite spell. You'll see why. You guys stand over here to the side for a minute." Harry pointed to a spot and they all moved over watching with rapt attention. "Okay, you ready?" They all nodded in unison as Harry drew his wand and held it straight out in front of himself. "Alright. _Expecto Patronum_!"

Puck watched in amazement as a bright white light flooded out the tip of the wand. The light began solidify and take shape and a moment later a huge bright white male deer made of light with giant antlers stood in front of the three gaping teens. Puck had never seen anything more beautiful in his life beside his daughter.

Harry stepped up to pat the deer on it's hip."Mike, Puck, Finn. I would like to introduce you to Prongs. He's solid, and friendly. Well, friendly as long as you are not trying to hurt me. You can pet him if you like."

Finn was the first to step forward. "I... I can pet him? You're sure?"

"Yep. Go ahead. It's like nothing else you have ever experienced." Harry told them.

Finn placed a shy hand on the massive stag's shoulder and gasped, before laughing. "Oh my God. Guys, you have to try this!"

Puck walked closer to the stags front, Mike following shortly after moving towards the deers center. Puck reached out a hand just above the deer's nose like he had seen in someone in a movie do once. After a moment Prongs leaned in to press his nose against Puck's hand. The instant they touched, joy ran through Puck making him smile widely and laugh out loud. He brushed his hand along the deer, feeling the relief as the fear from the crash was washed away in the pure happiness.

"He's amazing, right? Now you see why he's my favorite?" Puck jumped slightly at Harry's voice right beside him. He had been so distracted looking at Prongs he hadn't even seen Harry move.

"Yeah. What is he?"

"Well basically he is made out of pure magic and my happiest memory. But what he really is, is my father," Harry told him with a soft smile as he stroked the deers neck.

Puck looked away from the glowing stag. "Your father is a deer? NO, offense, dude, but that's fucked up!" Magic was cool and all, but that was some seriously freaky shit.

"No! Well sort of, but not really. I should have said he represented my father," Harry corrected himself with a laugh. "Very few wizards can work to be able to change into animals. My dad and his friends figured it out in school, and his form was a stag nicknamed Prongs."

Puck could just imagine all the cool things he could have done if he was a wizard. When he was a kid, he used to dream of a life with magic. His dad used to tell Puck stories about Merlin and enchanted castles, witches and wizards who could do incredible things. Puck had told his dad that was what he wanted to be when he grew up, a wizard. His dad had laughed and told him anything was possible. It all seemed so real the way his dad talked about it. When his dad left the week after he turned 11, all talk about magic left his life.

"It must be cool to have magic parents. Growing up with magic had to be amazing, right?"

Harry looked at him with a sad smile. "I wouldn't know, but from what I hear it is brilliant."

Puck was confused, but before he could ask Harry what he meant Harry spoke again.

"Okay, guys. You have to step back now. Prongs has a job to do today." When they all reluctantly stepped back, the overwhelming joy faded but Puck's mood stayed elevated. Harry steadied himself with hand on the stag and stood on his toes to whisper in the deer's ear before drawing back to stand with the other teens. "Alright boy, off you go."

The bright deer took off at a gallop towards the sea. When it his the water it kept running right over the surface. They boys watched, but at about 100 feet out the deer stopped and turned to look back at the shore.

Puck didn't know what was going on, so he looked to Harry looked just as confused as Puck felt.

"What is he doing?" Harry mumbled.

The deer was standing on top of the water pawing at something, but not moving forward. Finally the stag backed up about 15 feet before lowering his head and charging forwards. It ran until it hit the same spot it had stopped earlier, but instead of stopping it seemed to ram into something invisible. Puck could see a huge flash of light so bright he was momentarily blinded. When his vision cleared, Prongs was gone.

"What the hell? That should not have happened!" Harry drew his wand again and another deer appeared and charged forward like the last but the same thing happened. "Okay. That should not be possible. I don't know anything that will keep a patronus out. They can even travel into Hogwarts," Harry seemed to be talking to himself, because Puck had no clue what he was talking about.

"Is it just Prongs, or can nothing get out?" Mike asked.

Harry turned his head to look at the boy. "That is a really good question. Let's find out, shall we? _Avis."_

They watched as five bright blue birds flew out of Harry's wand and made their way out over the ocean, only to hit the same problem. Instead of a bright light, they just hit the barrier and fell into the ocean.

"Maybe it's just magic," Puck suggested.

"Another good point. Which of you throw the furthest?" Harry asked.

"That would be Finn."

Mike handed Finn one of the leftover oranges and told him to throw it as far and hard as he could, but at the same point the fruit smacked into nothing visible and dropped straight down.

"OK, I've got another idea." Harry said before crouching in the sand and picking up a large seashell. He waved his wand again and where the seashell was now sat a yellow rubber duck the size of a basketball.

Puck snorted. "You're idea is to take a bath?"

"Shut up," Harry told him good-naturedly. "It was the first thing I thought of."

Harry walked to the edge of the sea and place the duck in the water before taking a seat on the beach. He pointed his wand and the duck and a gust of air came out of it and began pushing the rubber duck out to see.

The process was slow going, so Puck and the other boys sat beside Harry and they all kept their eyes on the steadily growing smaller duck. Puck felt a small flare of hope, but then the duck stopped and wouldn't move any more. The waves and the wind kept knocking it against the barrier, but it went no further. The weird thing was the water had no problem passing like there was nothing there.

"Well, that can't be good," Puck chimed in.

"You should uh...try something else, Harry," Finn said.

"Shut up, Finn. You just want to see more magic!" Puck told him.

"So? It's cool! Don't lie and say you don't think it's super awesome."

"Well, obviously it's awesome. But you're missing the big picture here, Finnessa."

"Oh, yeah? And what is that, Puck?"

But it was Harry that answered. "We're trapped."

"But we were already trapped."

"No, Finn. We were just stuck because we didn't have a boat. But if whatever is out there won't let anything through then we can even make a raft and sail away like in all those movies," Puck told him. Not that he had any clue how to make a raft, but it couldn't be to hard right?

A look of horror crossed Finn's face. "Does that mean nothing can get in either?"

"Don't be a dumbass, Finn. If nothing could get in then how would we be here," Puck asked.

"Dobby? Kreature?" The other three looked at Harry in confusion when nothing happened.

"What was that supposed to do?" Finn wanted to know.

"Well, I'm officially out of ideas. And Dobby and Kreature are house-elves bound to me. They can hear me from anywhere on the planet, and are able to appear by my side when I call them. If they didn't show up, that means they at either can't get in or even that message was blocked some how. I would say it was impossible for it to be blocked, but it's also impossible for a patronus to be blocked so..."Harry trailed off in his explanation.

They all sat in silence for minutes staring out at the rubber duck floating out in the water.

"Does that mean this is a magic island?" Mike asked. "If there is something keeping magic out, that must mean it is magic right?"

"Shit!" Harry suddenly looked panicked and stood up quickly. "You're right. We need to head back to the others. I need to let Logan know. If this island is part of the magical world, Merlin knows what could be on it with us."

They all took off at a run down the beach. Puck didn't know anything about the magic world, but Harry seemed worried so they all followed without comment.

"Guys? Shouldn't we be back by now?" Finn asked. "We didn't go very far."

Mike pointed at something on the sand. "I think we are back."

There in the sand lay the orange peels from their earlier meal, but the rest of the beach was empty. No survivors. Even the bodies of those who didn't make it were gone.

"There's no way Logan would have left without me. We need to look around for any signs of people, or any trouble they could have had." Harry told them.

The four walked around for several minutes without finding any sign of them before Harry suddenly bent over and picked up a stick and tucked it into his back pocket.

"It's not a stick," Harry explained when Puck asked. "It's another wand. One of the students from my school didn't make it, this must be his. Logan lost his in the crash and I told him there was one over here, but I guess he never made it."

"The cop was a wizard too?" Mike exclaimed. "So he wasn't really a cop?" Mike turned and whispered to Puck. "I told you he wasn't an international kid spy!"

"He was an Auror, which is basically a police officer for the magical population," Harry explained.

Puck shot a smug look to Mike. "Told you. He could still be an international magic spy kid now. That's how the cop knew him, I bet."

"You guys know I'm standing right here, right?" Harry asked with a grin. "And I'm not a spy."

"Well how was I supposed to know? You had like ninja reflexes on the plane, which was still awesome by the way. Then you show up on the beach with magic. And then the cop knows who you are and gets all shifty and nervous. It all added up to me."

"I didn't think so, Harry," Mike piped up.

"Thank you, Mike. And no, Puck, I am not a spy."

"Are you going to tell us how the magic cop knows you?" Puck really was curious.

"No, I'm not."

"Ok, well. What if I guess?" Puck pressed. "Will you tell me if I'm right or wrong?"

Harry stopped walking and looked directly at Puck for a minute. "Alright, deal. You guess and I'll answer truthfully."

Puck perked up. "Awesome! This'll be great."

"Trapped on a magic island with people missing isn't exactly what I call great, Puck" Finn told him.

"Lighten up, bro. You can't tell me your not curious."

Harry raised his wand and pointed it at his throat. "AUROR LOGAN. PLEASE RETURN TO THE BEACH IMMEDIATELY ." It sounded like Harry was speaking through a megaphone right next to them.

Puck ducked to the side and rubbed his ears. "A little warning next time, man? Fuck!"

Harry looked sheepish. "Sorry,' he apologized, "I didn't think." They waited for a moment, but no response came from the jungle.

"What happened to everyone? Did something magic get them?"

"I don't know Finn. Maybe they walked further in to find fresh water," Puck suggested. Harry's face told him what a stupid idea that was, but he thankfully didn't comment.

"So...I guess the question is, what do we do now?'" Harry asked the group.


	4. Chapter 4

"What do we do now?" Harry asked.

"What do you mean? We just wait for them to come back, right?" Finn asked.

"Well, that is an option. The problem with that is we don't know where they went. I know for a fact Logan would not have left without checking with me. Plus their plan was to set up a camp here on the beach," Harry explained. "Now, it's going to be getting dark soon. I'm not sure we should stay here without knowing what happened while we were gone. If we can find a more protected spot on the beach, I can set some defenses while we sleep."

To be honest, Harry was really concerned. The only things on the beach were their orange peels and the wand. There were only a few tracks leading up to the jungle. Harry figured those were the people looking for food. No tracks leading away from the beach suggested that all of the people left. They just disappeared. Harry would think they all apparated or took a portkey, but besides Logan there were obviously muggles. Logan couldn't have made a portkey without a wand, even if he had known how. That knowledge was only shared with a few and they had to have ministry approval to know.

The spot was way too open to be easily defended, but he couldn't just leave the other boys alone. Harry was seriously considering this might be a magic island. Hermione had briefly mentioned them once, and Harry wished he had payed more attention. All he knew was there was very few in the world and they were all different from each other and almost impossible to find. He was wary of making their way into the jungle this late in the day without knowing exactly what was in there.

"But what if they come back and we are not here?" Mike wanted to know.

"Who cares? Do we really need them? Look, none of the people on the plane looked like they knew what to do, and Logan didn't look any better. Between the four of us we can take care of ourselves, right? I say we find some place to camp for the night like Harry said. In the morning we can figure something out." Puck had a point. It would be easier to defend just the four of them rather than a bunch of people. Plus the boys already knew of his magic so he didn't have to hide it.

Mike and Finn were silent for a few moments, presumably thinking it over.

"Alright, I'm in," Mike said.

"Me, too." Finn agreed.

"Should we head back to where we just were?" Puck asked.

"No, there was just beach all the way and jungle all the way down. We need to have our backs to something other than the jungle. We don't know what is in the jungle. I'm not ruling out anything so we need to protect our selves as much as possible," Harry told them and they set off down the beach in the opposite direction then they headed earlier.

"Do all wizard teenagers know this stuff? 'Cause not to be rude, but you look like you have done this before," Finn said.

Harry laughed. "No, they don't. You could say I've lead an interesting life."

"Dude, your like what...16? How interesting could it have been," Puck asked.

"17, and you have no idea," Harry drawled. "What are your lives like. Living in America must be pretty neat."

"I guess. We live in Ohio, man. Nothing really interesting happens there. Basically it's all just high school stuff, which I for one am glad is almost over," Mike said.

"Oh? What are you all doing when you leave school?" Harry had always wondered what a normal teenage life was like.

"Well, I'm heading out to California. It's on the West Coast. It's going to be awesome. Sit on the beach all day and have fun in the sun," Puck revealed. "I'm gonna be moving my pool cleaning business out there."

"I'm joining my girlfriend Rachel and brother in New York. They want to sing on Broadway," Finn told him excitedly.

"I'm actually going into medicine. I got accepted into Columbia."

"That's great. It's cool that you guys have it all planned out like that," Harry told them. They had been making good time as they talked and in the distance Harry saw the beach began to turn rocky, so he was hopeful to find some place to stop soon enough.

"Enough about us, what are you going to do after you graduate, Harry?" Finn asked.

"Yeah, it's your senior year too right?"

"Yes, I'm in my final year. And as for what I'm going to do, it's pretty simple. I'm going to disappear." Harry informed them.

"Disappear? Like go invisible? Can you do that? Is that some sort of wizard tradition?"

"No, Finn. Well, I can go invisible, but that's not what I meant. I mean I'm leaving. I'm going to travel the world. Disappear right into the crowd. It's going to be wonderful," Harry told them dreamily. "No one to tell me what I can or can not do. No responsibilities. Just going wherever I want whenever I want. Only a few more months and I'm gone."

"Fuck, that sounds great! I thought I had a good plan."

"Won't your family be disappointed if you leave though?" Mike asked. "I know mine would. My parents have been planning my future since I was a baby."

"I don't actually have any family. Well, any that doesn't despise me. And my future was planned too. That's exactly why I'm leaving. No one asked me if I wanted to do any of the stuff they had planned. They just told me and expected me to follow. Well, fuck that. I did my responsibility, one that should never have been mine," Harry ranted not even pausing to consider what he was revealing to practically strangers.

"Does Harry ever get to be a kid? A regular teenager? NO! Let's send him to war! 'Hey, Harry we know your only 15,' they said, ' but go kill that evil immortal guy. You've killed him before, so it shouldn't be too hard a second time, right? We're all counting on you while we hide in here. Oh, and try and hurry up will you? ' And I did! I just went along with everything thinking it would be over soon. But was it? Nope. Now I have to be an Auror and go to ministry parties and prance around for people to gawk as like some sort of freak. Don't you think I want to do something normal? Go on a date without the guy selling his story to the paper? Nope, can't do that. Go on vacation without the plane crashing and ending up on an enchanted island? No, can't do that either."

"Hey, Harry? You're kind of sparking man," Puck voice broke into Harry's rant.

Harry realized that at some point he had come to a stop on the beach and had been practically yelling at the other teens. Harry looked down and sure enough his magic was dancing along his skin, emitting deep purple sparks into the air. Harry closed his eyes and breathed deeply and struggled for calm. After a moment he felt completely embarrassed and hated to think what the others thought of him. He chanced a quick peek at the others but instead of the looks of fear or disgust all he saw was concern.

Harry cleared his throat and motioned towards the direction they had been walking. "Shall we continue. Sorry about that. I'm still working on some issues, I guess," Harry told them quietly.

"It's alright, dude. Now I have more information to help my guesses," Puck teased with a grin.

"For the record, you really do lead an interesting life man," Finn said. Harry could tell they had a lot a questions, and was thankful for them not asking at the moment.

"Yeah. I know. At least I got some cool stories out of it. Well, now they are cool. Then they were just terrifying."

"You should totally tell us some!"

"You know what? I'll make you a deal. I'll tell you some of mine if you guys share some of yours."

"Why would you want to hear ours? They are nothing interesting like yours."

"Speak for yourself, Frankenteen. The man clearly wants to hear about how Puckzilla is a stud, right?"

"The grass is always greener on the other side I suppose, Finn. And I have no clue what a Puckzilla is."

Finn and Mike laughed while Puck looked appalled. "Dude! I'm Puckzilla. The Puckasaurus. Stop laughing!," Puck snapped at Mike and Finn who just laughed harder.

"Is this some American thing I'm not getting?"

"Dude! I'm a badass. Check out the mohawk," Puck said pointing to his hair. "And all badasses have badass names."

"Dude! Your name isn't even Puck," Finn said through his laughter.

"It's not?" Harry asked, confused.

"Nah. I've known him since we were kids. His real is No-"

"Hey- how about here to camp?" Puck broke in.

Harry looked around to where they had ended up. The jungle had gradually given way to a rock cliff that towered above them. The shore line was about thirty feet from the cliffs. Best of all there was no tracks in the sand beside theirs.

"For tonight it's perfect. It's not long term, really. But it is defensible for now. We need to find anything big around. I can change things into other things, but I'm not good enough to create something out of nothing. So big rocks or shells, anything like that."

The others spent the next few minutes collecting objects while Harry spent the time laying wards around the area to camp. He also set spelled a mark into the sand to let the other boys know not to leave the area.

The boys had piled all the stuff together, and Harry told them that it was more than enough.

"Alright. I'll do my best. If my transfiguration professor was here she could make us a tent better than a five star hotel, but we'll have to make due with me for now."

He transfigured two of the largest rocks into two person tents and the rest became four sleeping bags, four chairs, four cups and a fire pit. The muggles were still enthralled by the magic, and watching in awe. Finn was practically jumping up and down shouting suggestions for whatever else they might need.

"We don't need a T.V., Finn" Puck said with a slap to the back of Finn's head.

"Ow! You never know, man."

"I actually can't make one, so it's good we don't need one. Before you suggest a phone or something, I can't make anything electronic."

"What about pizza? Can you change that rock into pizza?" Finn asked seriously.

"Nope. Magic can't make food. Luckily enough I can conjure water though. So we won't have to limit our self to finding a permanent location by a water source."

Mike looked at him when he made that comment. "Permanent? This is all just temporary, right? I mean, they have to be out looking for us."

"I don't want to make the mistake of preparing for short-term and needing more. I have learned it's much better to be over prepared than under prepared. I'm not going to take the chance with our lives. That is why I put the wards up. You all should know that you shouldn't step past the red line in the sand around the camp by the way. You won't get hurt, but you will get stuck. We should really have a discussion about all this, if you guys are ready."

"I understand. And you are right we should talk about our plans," Mike conceded.

The sun was low in the sky by the time the boys were settled in camp. They sat in the chairs around the small fire Harry had conjured in the fire pit. Harry passed out the cups and cast _aguamenti_ at each.

"Can't you make anything stronger than water?" Puck asked as he drank with a grimace.

"Well I can make wine, but we really need to be clear headed for this discussion. Plus none have had water in hours, and after being in the sun so long we need to keep hydrated."

"Buzz kill," Puck shot back with a grin.

Harry shrugged. "I've had been called worse."

Puck laughed. "Yeah, me too."

"Harry, since you seem to have some clue what we are supposed to do why don't you start?" Mike suggested.

"Alright. This is what we know so far. We started having trouble about halfway through the flight. Only about half the passengers ended up on our beach. No one knew how we got there, and there was no wreckage. We have reason to believe the island is magic of some sort. The evidence supporting this is the barrier preventing anything from leaving or possibly entering. Also I don't know if you noticed but the climate and vegetation are wrong for the area of the Atlantic we supposedly crashed. It feels like we are closer to the equator than we should be."

"I did recognize that," Mike said. "I mean there were oranges. I don't think that's normal."

Harry nodded. "Exactly. I'm don't know much about plants, but I know orange trees grow in tropical climates. Now, I haven't seen any magical plants, but I haven't really been looking and I don't know that many besides what we learned in class. Herbology wasn't my best subject, but it was my friend Neville's. He was on the plane with me, so if we find him he will know. That brings me to our first problem. The other passengers. Do we search for them?"

"Which passengers? Our friends or the people who disappeared off the beach," Finn asked

"I don't care if I sound like a dick, but I didn't know any of those people on the beach. I say we look for the people we know," Puck said. "They are more important."

Harry thought about it for a moment. In the past he might have gone charge off into the jungle, wand drawn looking for battle. But he didn't want to go looking for a fight that wasn't his own anymore. The passengers from the plane had a trained auror with them. He cared about his friends, and if it came down to it he would die for them. If he came across the others he would help, but he would much rather devote his time to finding out what happened with Neville and Luna.

"No, I think your right.," Harry told the others. "Plus if my professor is on the island it will be in our favor to find him. I hate the bastard, but if there is anyone better than me at living through impossible situations it's him. He at least has never died."

"Wait, does that mean-"

"Moving on. So we are searching for our friends come tomorrow. Agreed?" Harry waited until they all nodded before continuing. "Alright if we are going to be moving there is no sense to set up a base yet, so we don't have to worry about that."

"I don't know about you guys but I'm tired of this. We are safe for the moment so we might as well relax right? We can talk about this stuff in the morning. It's not like we are on a time limit," Puck said.

Personally, Harry agreed. He on a beach with some friendly blokes sitting around a fire. For the moment it could feel like a vacation he had been looking for.

When Harry said this out loud the others agreed and Puck raised his cup. "Now that's what I'm talking about. Now, hook me up with some alcohol, magic man!"

Harry laughed and transfigured all their drinks. "If my friends Fred and George were here they could have made Firewhiskey. Now that will mess you up!"

Finn perked up. "Ooh, I can sense a story there! You promised to share."

"Nope you first. Let's hear a drinking story from one of you and then I'll go," Harry argued.

"Alright, I got one about Finnessa here. One word: Puke."

"Puck! No! He said stories about ourselves!"

"Well, I was there so it counts. OK so the football team had just won our first game and we decided to get drunk and celebrate. Finn here got trashed and ended up throwing up all over the place before passing out. We all woke up late the next morning, hungover as fuck, and had to rush to get to school, right? So we get to school, none of us even noticed the smell until first period. Turns out Finn had puked in both shoes the night before and didn't even notice when he ran out the door in the morning. He had go the whole day wearing them. It was awesome."

"It was awesome for you! You just sat back and laughed while Quinn yelled at me from across the hall! She wouldn't even come near me. And don't think I didn't know you had sneakers in your locker, Puck!" Finn shouted over the laughter of Harry, Mike and Puck.

"I remember that day. They called you pukey for like a month after," Mike said. "Alright now it's your turn Harry."

"Fine. A deals a deal. OK, so Fred and George are twin pranksters two years above me in school. In our fourth year, there was a competition with two other schools. Through no fault of my own, I was selected to be one of the competitors. The first task I had to battle a dragon, and I won. So to celebrate, the twins sneaked into the town nearby and liberated some Ogden's Firewhiskey. Best there is, only it makes you breathe fire every time you take a shot. It was my first time ever drinking any alcohol and they always forgot I wasn't raised in the wizarding world, so no one thought to tell me I would be breathing fire.

So I take the shot and it literally burned. I mean I've got smoke coming out my ears and a 15 foot stream of fire out of my mouth. I ended up setting the couch on fire. We panicked and tried to fix it, only by that time we they were drunk, and I didn't know the spell. We ended up transfiguring the couch into a llama. George figured if we changed the rest of the furniture into animals no one would notice. By the time the rest of the house came down in the morning the three of us were all passed out on the floor of the common room, and I was cuddling a sheep with a chair fabric pattern in its wool."

By the time he had finished Puck was literally on the ground laughing, having fallen out of his chair and the other two boys weren't any better. They spent the next hour or so sharing drinking stories back and forth, and Harry was startled to realize this was actually the best night he had had in a while. But it grew late and after the day they had, they were all pretty beat.

"I don't know about you blokes, but I'm ready for bed," Harry told them while standing and stretching. "One of you can share the tent with me. Unless you feel uncomfortable. Then I'm sure you can squeeze into the other one."

"I'll share," Puck offered.

"Wow. What a surprise," Mike loudly whispered to Finn causing them both to snicker earning them a confused look from Harry and a glare from Puck.

"Ok..." Harry said slowly. "I'll see you in the morning Mike and Finn." Harry was making his way to one of the tents when Puck called out from behind him.

"Hey, man. Your dropped your-" Harry turned in time to see Puck crouch and pick up the extra wand that must have dropped out of his back pocket. As soon as Puck held the polished wood in his hands, the wand emitted a series of gold and blue sparks.

"-wand." Puck looked up from the wand and saw Harry's wide eyed look of complete shock. "Um..is that supposed to happen?"

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In a weird turn events the island also makes Harry speak American English with a British accent. How weird is that? ( ~Are they buying it?~ *Yeah, I think so. * ~Phew. That was a close one!~ )


	5. Chapter 5

"Um...is that supposed to happen?" Puck asked looking at Harry's shocked face. As soon as Puck had touched the innocent looking wand he felt a rush of warmth through out his whole body.

"I...I'm...Sorry, I really don't know," Harry stuttered. "I don't know how wands are supposed to react to muggles. Um...ok, this is probably dangerous but try giving it a wave."

Puck did as suggested feeling a bit silly and waved his arm from right to left. Instantaneously felt another rush of something and the small fire in the pit roared up 10 feet high. Puck and the others dove to the sand while Harry shouted for him to stop.

Puck was staring at the wand in his hand in awe. Magic. He, Noah Puckerman, had done magic. He knew it was magic, what else could it be? Puck's mind was racing. What else could he do? Were all those things his dad told him when he was a kid actually true? What was that loud sound?

Puck looked up to the the others staring at him. Mike and Finn were looking confused and shocked, and Harry was looking amused and also shocked.

"Are you back with us?" Harry asked. "You know I'm pretty sure that is the same look I had on my face when I did my first magic. Nearly blew up the wand shop," Harry said with a chuckle.

"I can do magic," Puck said slowly before a bright grin lit up his face. "I can do fucking magic! Holy shit. This is so awesome. What else can I do, man? You have to show me everything!" Puck exclaimed excitedly.

"Well, at least your taking it well. And I can't show you everything obviously. Besides it's late we should be heading to sleep."

"Sleep? How can you think of sleep at a time like this? I'm a fucking wizard, dude! Do you have any idea how cool that is?"

"I have some idea yes. And your not going to like it, but I'm going to have to keep that wand. We don't need anyone getting hurt," Harry informed him.

Puck's grip tightened on the wand causing more sparks to shoot out, he didn't want to let it go. He wanted to do more magic. "What the fuck? No. I won't do anything, man," Puck lied. He totally planned of waving the shit out of that wand.

"Puck, he's right. You almost lit us all on fire a few minutes ago," Mike said.

"But...I just got it. Would you want to let your magic go?"

"None of us know what's going on here, but if you really do have magic it's not in the wand. It's in your magical core. Me taking the wand isn't going to change that. Anyways, I'm not going to keep it. But I'll need to watch you when you use it," Harry told him.

"I'm not a damn kid, dude."

"I know how you feel, Puck. I was in the same situation." Puck scoffed. "Ok, a similar one at least. But there is no one here to fix something if your magic goes wrong. How about a deal? I'll teach you what I can until we are off the island, but I keep the wand when your not learning alright?"

Puck's grip loosened a bit. Harry looked so sincere he really didn't think that he would keep the wand away from Puck, but no matter what Harry said it felt like the wand was a part of his magic. Like he wouldn't have it any more if he let go.

"Maybe it is the wand," Finn pipped up, voicing Puck's fears.

"What?" Mike asked.

"Yeah, like maybe the wand is magic and that's why it worked. Maybe it would work for us too. Give it here, Puck. Let me try," Finn commanded reaching for the wand.

Puck's hand tightened on the wand as he backed away, sending more sparks into the sand. "What the hell, dude. No. It's mine!"

"Finn, there is no way for a wand to hold magic. It just channels it and directs the magic however the caster wills it," Harry told them.

"Well, if it's a magic island maybe it is channeling the magic from the island," Mike suggested.

"I would say that it is impossible, but I really don't know for sure."

"Puck! Give me the damn wand, dude," Finn yelled. "I just want to see it!"

"Fuck you, no!" Finn ran forward and tackled Puck into the sand, and they began to roll around on the ground fighting over the wand which was emitting sparks everywhere.

"That really isn't safe," Harry yelled but Puck wasn't listening. There was no way he was giving the wand up to Finn, it wasn't happening. Even though Finn was taller, Puck was stronger and he soon go the upper hand. He was sitting on Finn's waist a fist raised when Harry shouted again and he suddenly couldn't move and his wand was yanked from his grasp.

Harry came up and stood over them as they lay in the sand. "Are you quite finished? Now do you see why I am going to be holding the wand." They were released by the spell and Puck quickly scrambled off Finn and they both stood. Somehow in the fight Finn had ended up with green hair, and there was a smoking hole in Puck's own shirt.

"Come on, Puck. If it was me or Mike that had picked up the wand first you would want to know. Besides if we all have magic, then we would have two wands for four people! It won't be so bad," Finn tried to placate.

Puck saw Harry grip his own wand and step away from Finn. "No."

Finn gaped at Harry, "You mean you wouldn't share! Dude!"

"Sorry, guys. Nothing personal. No one touches my wand but me."

"We already knew that, dude," Puck snickered,

"Shut up, Puck," Finn snarled.

"Dude, chill out."

"I'm sorry, Finn, but asking to borrow someones wand is like asking to borrow their arm. It's a part of you. A bond forms when you first hold it. That's why Puck feels like he can't give his up," Harry revealed. "But I agree. We do need to know if it is just Puck. We will deal with it either way."

Puck watched as Harry held Puck's wand out to Mike first. He moved forward to intercept, but Harry stopped him with a hand on his chest. "We need to know, Puck. It could be dangerous if they had magic and none of us knew."

"What the fuck ever man. Why not let them try with your wand?" Puck sneered.

"Because my wand is unique and I don't want my new friends blown up. Is that a good enough reason for you?" Harry shot back.

Puck kept his sneer in place but shut up. Just because he understood, didn't mean he had to like it. Harry held the wand out to Mike again, before instructing him to wave it towards the water this time. Harry sent a small smile to Puck who fought and failed to keep an answering smile off his face at the memory of his first magic.

When nothing happened Puck's relief was reflected on Mike's face. "I'm actually glad. Magic is really cool and all, but I didn't want to have to deal with the responsibility. I've already got enough to deal with." Puck snorted, then thought for a moment. Who said anything about responsibility?

Harry took the wand back from Mike. "Well, now we know for sure it isn't the wand or the island. You still want to give it a go, Finn?"

"Of course!"

Harry exchanged a worried look with Puck but handed it over to Finn anyway with the same instructions as Mike. Finn's bright smile dropped when nothing happened. A look of concentration crossed Finn's face, but still nothing. He waved and pointed it at the fire this time, but even that didn't help. Finn handed the wand back to Harry, and without another word walked into his tent.

"He'll be okay. I just think he wanted magic more than anyone," Mike said and followed Finn into the tent.

Harry silently nodded to their own tent, and they made their way inside to get ready for bed. With Puck's permission, Harry changed both their clothes in pajamas and they both laid down. Puck's excitement was somewhat dampened by watching his friend be so disappointed. Harry and Puck lay for a few minutes in silence before Puck spoke.

"He was wrong, you know?"

"What do you mean?"

"Mike. When he said that Finn wanted magic more than anyone. That's not true. I used to spend hours when I was a kid just imagining a world my father used to tell me about. I even told him that when I grew up I wanted to be a wizard just like Merlin. Even after he left I would lay awake at night thinking of a world I could escape to."

Harry hummed. "I used to do the same thing before I found out I was a wizard. Looks like both our wishes came true, huh?"

"Yeah I guess so." Puck agreed quietly. Soon the tent was filled with the soft sounds of Harry's breathing as he drifted off, Puck joining him not long after.

~:+:~

Puck woke up slowly the next morning. Even after he was fully awake he stubbornly refused to open his eyes. Half of him hoped the plane crash was just a weird vivid dream and the other half of him feared him having magic was just a weird vivid dream. The way Puck figured it, if he didn't wake up he didn't to know.

"It's real."

Harry's voice broke the silence in the tent and Puck's eyes snapped open. Ok, so he really was in a tent. That meant the plane crash was real. Now what about the magic? Puck rolled over to face Harry who was already sitting up looking at Puck with amusement.

"The magic? It's real."

"Can you read minds? Cause that is like an invasion of privacy or some shit," Puck told him.

"No, I can't. But the first day I woke up after finding out I was a wizard I had the horrible fear it was all a dream. I thought you might feel the same since you have been lying there awake for 15 minutes without moving."

Puck sat up and scrubbed a hand over his face. "So, it was real? I can really do magic?"

"Well, as of last night yes. I still don't have any clue why. Are you sure you didn't know? Most wizards get a letter on their eleventh birthday."

"Trust me. I'm sure I didn't know. And all I got for my eleventh birthday was a weird book from my dad before he skipped out on us."

"What about any accidental magic? For instance when I was a kid I accidentally apparated to the top of a school building."

Puck shrugged. "Not anything that I can remember. What's apparating?"

"It's kind of like muggle teleporting. Only with magic instead."

"So I can do that too?" Puck asked. He sat up on his sleeping back to see Harry better. "Can you show me? What's a Muggle?"

"A muggle is a word wizards use for non-magic users. Usually, your not allowed to apparate until your 17. I don't know what is going to happen in your case. But we should definitely wait until you know way more magic."

"Come on, man. What's the worst that could happen?"

"You could leave bits of yourself behind. Maybe even your favorite bits," Harry told him with a smirk.

Puck gulped and covered puckzilla. "Good idea. I'll wait."

"Thought so. Since we are up, I can show you some magic to help with breakfast if you want? But first let me clean and transfigure our clothes. Any preferences?"

Soon Harry was wearing a red t-shirt with a gold lion on the front and a pair of loose black shorts and hiking shoes. Puck had chosen a tight white tank top and baggy khaki cargo shorts. As they made their way out of the tent, Puck noticed something attached to Harry's arm and asked about it.

"It's a wrist sheath for my wand. It's designed so that my wand will never fall out, and it's always ready to be in my hand with just a thought," Harry explained.

Puck could tell it was still early, the sky was still orange and purple from the sunrise. Mike and Finn had yet to wake, so Harry removed the wards around the site and Puck and Harry took the time to separate to do their business before meeting up at the water. Once there Puck was bounding with excitement when Harry handed him his wand back. Puck was disappointed when he didn't get the same rush when he touched it. Harry must have noticed because he started to explain.

"The feeling only happens when you bond with your wand the first time. Now when wizards first start school at 11 their magical core is small and weak as such we can only do small magic. As you get older your core develops and stabilizes. You will be able to do spells that we had to wait for, but it is important for you to work up to them otherwise you could hurt yourself or someone else. I can't really teach you like you are supposed to be taught, so when we get out of here your actually going to have to do a lot of learning."

Puck dropped his head back and groaned. "Great more school."

"Like I said, I don't know how it will work. Wizards don't do to muggle school. At 11 we head of to Hogwarts to learn magic." Hogwarts? Something about that name seemed familiar to Puck, but before he could think on it anymore Harry was talking.

"While I know some healing, I am not a Healer. I can't fix any problem so I'm going to need your promise that you wont do any magic without my approval. No trying to do magic that I do. I have had seven years of school and two years of special training. It would be extremely dangerous for you to attempt them. Really, I probably shouldn't be teaching you at all. I've taught classes before, but they were advanced and the kids I was teaching had already had 5 years of education. You have to promise me to be patient, ok? "

Puck knew Harry was right. It sucked that he had to wait, but he didn't want to kill himself right when he just got his magic. Plus he got the feeling if he was caught then Harry would keep the wand and not give it back. That was not something he wanted to happen. Puck could probably take the smaller boy in a physical fight, but Harry had magic.

"I got it. No magic without Harry supervision. Can you show me a spell now?"

Harry stared at him suspiciously for a moment before nodding. "Alright. First spell you are going to learn is the levitation charm. The wand movement is a swish and flick and the incantation is Wingardium Leviosa."

Harry pointed his wand at a seashell and showed Puck the spell before letting it fall back to the sand. "Alright, now your turn. Just concentrate."

Puck attempted the spell a few times while Harry corrected his wand or pronunciation. Finally on the fourth try, the shell raised about a foot off the ground. Puck gasped and looked at Harry with a huge smile. "I did it! I really did it, man! I'm a fucking wizard!" Puck shouted. The shell dropped as Puck lost concentration and grabbed Harry into a hug and lifted him off the ground and spinning him around. Harry was giggling as he set him down in the sand, his green eyes bright.

"You did, and you are," Harry told Puck with a smile. "How about you continue with that and I'll catch us all some breakfast. Then we'll wake up the others." Puck nodded and went back to his shell, still with huge smile on his face. A wizard. Him. Noah Puckerman, the wizard. He just couldn't get over it.

About 20 minutes later, Puck could now keep the shell in the air with no trouble. In the mean time, Harry had piled 6 large fish into a transfigured basket and lit a fire before going to wake up Mike and Finn. A few minutes later Harry came back as sat in a chair and began to clean the fish with a transfigured knife. Puck watched from a few yards away, memorized as Harry made quick work of all the bones and fins before placing each fish in a frying pan over the fire.

Puck pocketed both the wand and shell and walked over to take his seat near the fire. "How do you know how to do all this," Puck asked waving his hand at their breakfast.

Harry looked thoughtful for a moment before answering. "Last year me and my friends went on a two month long camping trip, and not by choice. We were in no way prepared. I had been taught how to fight, but nothing applied to what we were going through. We had no clue what we were doing, and went hungry most of the time. The three of us were on the run so we couldn't even set up anything permanent. Eventually we leaned how survive, but it wasn't easy. When we were finally able to go home my friend Hermione insisted we learn all about surviving in the wilderness. I payed close attention for two reasons. One, I never wanted to be in a position like that again. And two, when I disappear after I graduate not everywhere I am going is going to be hotels and spas. Though there will be plenty of those too," Harry finished with a grin.

By this time Mike and Finn were there listening to Harry's story as well and all of the fish was cooking. It looked like Harry had cleaned and transfigured their clothes as well. They were both in black shorts and sneakers but Mike was wearing a blue shirt with a bronze eagle and Finn was wearing a yellow shirt with what looked like a honey badger.

Puck laughed, "What are you guys wearing?"

Harry shrugged. "They said they didn't care. Those are the houses from my school. There are four," Harry pointed at Mike, "Ravenclaw, for the smart and creative," Harry then pointed at Finn, "Hufflepuff, for the loyal and hard workers," Harry finished by pointing to himself, "and then we have Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart. I don't know you guys that well, but it seemed to fit."

"You said there were four houses. What's the last one? And why didn't I get one?"

"The last is Slytherin, the cunning and ambitious. And you don't have one because you chose your own clothes. They let me pick."

"Fine. I want to be the last one," Puck replied.

"Really? Alright, I guess. But I don't know if that really fits you."

Harry waved his wand and Puck looked down to see his white tank top was now green and had a picture of a huge snake with yellow eyes.

"Dude, this snake is badass. Definitely better than a bird or badger."

"Hey! Honey badger don't care, honey badger don't give a shit," Finn exclaimed causing the three Americans to break down in laughter while Harry looked on.

"Alright. I don't know what's so funny. But that's a regular badger, and you wouldn't think that snake is so badass when its trying to eat you," Harry shivered.

"Oh! Story! Story!" Finn yelled.

"Fine," Harry sighed. "But after breakfast is done. I don't want to share that story on an empty stomach."

"Oh! Harry taught me my first spell! You guys wanna see?" Puck was egar to show off what he had learned already.

Finn groaned. "You mean we missed your first lesson? Of course I want to see!"

"Me, too!"

Puck jumped up and took the wand and shell out of his pocket, but before he could say anything Harry spoke up.

"Not near the fire, Puck! I already told you. You guys go closer to the water. But don't leave my sight."

Puck rolled his eyes. "Yes, mommy," he replied sarcastically already walking away with Finn and Mike following and Harry's laughter ringing in his ears.

For the next few minutes Puck showed them how he floated the shell. Harry yelled suggestions from the campsite on ways to be better and had the other glee kids throw things for him to float and move around. Puck had been worried about Finn's reaction to him being a wizard. He was so excited and he didn't want the other teen to be jealous or angry for not having any magic himself. Finn seemed to get over his disappointment over night and was just as enthusiastic as Puck to see more magic. They were actually all having fun, which was surprising given they were stranded on a magical island. But Harry had been right. If you forgot about the fact they were in a plane crash yesterday, it kinda just felt like a bunch of guys hanging out on a beach.

When the fish was ready, they all sat around the fire to eat listen to Harry's story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *I am aware the honey badger reference is probably way out of time line. Let's blame that on the magic island too, huh? ;)


	6. Chapter 6

After Harry dished out the fish and cups of water he began to talk. "Ok, so to start with I can speak to and understand snakes."

"Awesome. Can I do that too?" Puck broke in.

"No, I'm the only one. Well, there used to be two, but now there's only me," Harry said with a satisfied smirk. "But that is another story, and the story I get in return for that will have to be epic."

"Don't interrupt, Puck. Continue, Harry," Finn said before shoving more food in his mouth.

"Thank you, Finn. So students in my school started turning into stone and no one knew what was going on. They were actually going to shut the school down. One of my best friends was turned but before she was, she had found out what was happening. Someone was setting a basilisk loose in the school," Harry told them dramatically. He took in the blank stares from the three boys. "Yeah, I had no clue what it was either." Harry pointed to the snake on Puck's shirt. "That is a basilisk. About 60 feet long, 6 foot wide. It's eyes can kill you if you look into them, huge foot long fangs filled with a poison with no known antidote. I could hear it speaking in the wall, traveling along the plumbing."

"Damn," Puck whispered looking down at the snake on his shirt. It _was_ badass.

"Then the worst happened. My best friend's sister was kidnapped and taken into the secret chamber that held the basilisk. Since I was the only parselmouth, that's what someone who talks to snakes is called, only I could open the door because the password was in parseltongue, snake language."

"Dude! You speak another language? Let's hear it."

"I'll show you, but just don't freak out ok? I have not had good experiences with people that hear it. It scares them."

Puck watched as Harry narrowed his gaze onto Puck's chest and hissed for a few moments before looking back up at the other boys.

"Dude. That wasn't scary, like at all. It was kinda hot actually," Puck stated with a grin causing Harry to blush.

"Reel it in, Puck," Mike said.

Harry coughed. "Yes, well, Anyway. Where was I? Ah, ok. I was going into the Chamber of Secrets. So I went with my friend whose sister was in the Chamber and a teacher, but half way in there was a tunnel collapse and we got separated. I had to get to her before the basilisk, so I had to go on alone. I finally found her on the floor of a huge cavern. But when I dropped my wand to run and help her I never noticed there was someone else there. It was a boy, named Tom. He was a spirit that had been possessing Ginny using a diary, and now he was draining her of life to become real again. Before I could reach my wand, Tom grabbed it. Then he walked over to a giant statue and called the basilisk."

"Oh, shit," Finn muttered.

"Yeah. I was terrified. How can you fight something over 10 times bigger than you with no weapon? Something you can't even look at without dying? Suddenly the headmasters phoenix showed up dropped something on the ground and then fought with the basilisk, scratching out it's eyes with its claws. So, you know what I did?"

All three boys slowly shook their heads, enraptured by the tale.

"I ran my ass out of there! I ran through the pipes as fast as I could, but I knew I had to go back to save Ginny. So I hid in an alcove, and the snake passed right by me, so close I could reach out and touch it. But it had lost his eyes to Fawkes, the phoenix, so it couldn't see me. I stayed completely still and silent, watching as it slid slowly past searching for me. As soon as I couldn't hear it I ran like crazy back to the chamber. I thought I was clear, but the basilisk crashed back into the chamber right up through the floor!"

Finn gasped. All three were on the edge of their seats.

"To the left of me I noticed a sword that the phoenix had dropped when it had appeared. I grabbed the sword and faced the basilisk, there was no other way. I had to fight it, but I was too small! It towered over me. So I did the only thing I could think of. I climbed the huge statue it had come out of, dodging as I went when it blindly struck out in an attempt to find me. Finally I reached the top, and there I stand level with the basilisk. It kept striking, and I had never held a sword before, so I'm just waving it around at the beast both of us missing our targets. Finally it drew back, and I knew this was it's final strike. I knew it would get me. As is descended on me I raised the sword, using the momentum of the basilisk to send it right through the roof of it's mouth. The basilisk shrieked and writhed around before falling down dead."

The three boys all breathed a sigh of relief, but then Harry continued

"But it wasn't over. When my arm was in the basilisks mouth, my forearm had been stabbed through with one of it's fangs. I could already feel the poison making it's way through my blood, and I knew I was dead. But from atop the statue I could still see Ginny laying there with Tom and I needed to save her from him. I climbed down the statue, still holding the basilisk fang and sword. When I reached the ground I ran over Ginny. Tom was very mad.

The basilisk was his pet, that was why it wouldn't talk to me, and I had killed it. Beside Ginny on the floor was the diary that Tom had used to possess her. I don't know why I did it, but I stabbed the basilisk fang from my arm right through the screamed as black oozed from his pages until finally Tom was gone and Ginny woke gasping. Finally she was safe, I thought to myself, I did what I had to do. I fell to the ground, the pain from my arm was incredible. Fawkes came over to me, and I saw he looked very sad. I told him not to worry, to take Ginny and go. Then he started to cry, I thought it was a sign I was for sure dead. But the phoenix leaned over my arm and let the tears fall over the hole in my arm. Phoenix tears can heal anything, you see, but they are so rare no one mentions them. The hole healed leaving nothing but a scar, the pain faded and I lived to fight another day."

"Holy fuck, dude. Was that really real," Puck had to know.

Harry held out his forearm and unbuckled his wand sheath exposing a puckered scar a little bigger than a golf ball before buckling it back up. "Really real."

"Damn, Harry. That's insane. How long ago did that happen?" Mike asked.

Harry thought for a moment. "About 5 years."

Puck spluttered. "5 YEARS? You were TWELVE when you did all that!?"

Harry chuckled at their shocked looks. "Yeah. You get used to it I guess. I've almost or should have died 8 times, and did die once. That wasn't even the first time, actually. I should have died twice before that."

Harry sounded like it was an everyday thing. Like it was no big deal. When Puck was twelve his biggest worry was if he could ask Santana out on a date. That was the year he started calling himself Puck because he felt like a badass for punching Nick Webster in the nose. Shit, now he felt like a fraud. Puck's badassness was nothing compared to Harry's. Puck made a mental note to be more badass in the near future.

"Wow, Harry. That was awesome. You are really brave," Finn said.

"Well, I am a Gryffindor," Harry laughed. "Now it's your turn!"

"I can assure you we do not have anything to compete with that, Harry."

"It's not a competition, Mike. Tell me a fun story. Lighten the mood a bit, you know?"

"Ok, I've got one," Finn decided. "Our junior year, we had a field trip to the Columbus Zoo."

"Oh! I love zoos! Did they have a reptile house? Wait! Don't answer that. Ignore me. Continue," Harry rambled.

Finn laughed. "Yes, they had a reptile house. But anyway, we went with out Glee Club as a reward for all out hard work on the latest competition. Our friend Brittany is a little strange. She's beautiful, you know, blonde haired blue eyed bombshell. But she is always talking nonsense. Things you really don't understand but you nod and smile anyway because shes adorable and you really can't be mean to her."

"Trust me, I know someone exactly like that. She's on the island with us actually, well I hope anyway. Sorry. Continue."

"So we go to the zoo, right? And I mean we're all pretty excited cause none of has been since we were kids and we got to get off school to go. But Brittney, I mean she was _excited._ No one could calm her down, not even her girlfriend. She was jumping all over the bus talking about how if she pretended to be a kangaroo she might get to sit in their pouch. It was hilarious. But we finally get there and we're walking around but she's completely silent. It was creepy, so finally I asked what was wrong. She told me the animals didn't want to be in cages they wanted to be free. Nothing would convince her otherwise. By the time we got to the primate house she had gone silent again so no one noticed when she wandered off."

"Uh oh. That's can't be good," Harry said while Puck and Mike shook their heads and Finn continued.

"When we finally noticed we were going crazy looking for her. We had been searching for like 20 minutes when she shows up out of nowhere with a little monkey! Just sitting on her shoulder playing with her hair and she's smiling like nothing is strange. We were all just staring at her. Then one of the zoo employees noticed her and the monkey and started shouting which, as turns out, is not a safe thing to do. It jumped off Brittany and started screaming and running between our legs, which had the Glee club also running around and yelling while the zoo keepers are trying to get the monkey. It took forever cause it seemed like every time they captured it another would show up! Turns out she had let all the spider monkeys out. And that is why McKinley High School Glee Club has a lifetime band from the Columbus Zoo."

Puck watched as Harry dissolved into giggles at this point. Sure a bunch of monkeys were no where near as cool as a gigantic snake, but at least Puck got to see Harry break down in laughter.

"That was the most interesting field trip we had ever been on. Well until now that is," Mike told them as Harry reigned in his giggles.

"Speaking of which. We need to figure out what we are doing. We need a plan," Harry decided.

They spent the next hour making plans. With Harry's magic they wouldn't have to worry about food or shelter, but Harry didn't want to rely solely on his magic for defense in case they got separated or it was something that he couldn't handle on his own. None of them could learn to use a sword in the amount of time they had, so Harry transfigured them all knives with wrist sheaths to defend themselves if necessary. At this point they were not completely sure it was a magic island, but they knew it was a good chance.

As a group they knew they wanted to find other survivors, especially their friends. They agreed to circle the island beach to look for any signs that anyone else had washed up like they had and would go from there. As for Puck, Harry would teach him what magic theroy he could while they walked and when they rested he would teach him the actual spells. To Puck it seemed like a lot of learning, but how bad could it be when the subject is magic?

The plans had all been settled Harry reversed the transfiguration on all of the campsite and everything turned back into rocks and shells when Mike brought up a very good point.

"Shouldn't we leave some sort of signal? For someone rescuing us, you know? Or if the others are looking for us too?"

Harry looked at him. "You come up with the most rational ideas. Alright we need a sign. There is everlasting fire, but I definitely can't make that. So I think our best bet would be the message in the sand route. What about you?"

"Sounds good. If we lit a fire someone would have to stay here to keep it going and that's not going to happen. Can you magic something up?"

"I can cast and enlargement spell on the stuff we used last night to transfigure into camping material, and then move them into place to spell out S.O.S. for something overhead to see."

Puck perked up at that. " And I can help move them ," he said while pulling out his wand

"I don't know if you'll be able to move something that big yet, but if you can't it just won't work so no harm trying."

Turns out Puck could move the rocks. Harry enlarged them to about four foot high, and between the two of them moving and with Mike and Finn directing they had the message spelled out in no time. The whole time Puck was grinning like a mad man. They had a little trouble when Puck started to chase Finn with one of the rocks, but Harry was quick to find out. Puck swore he used magic somehow because there was no way someone that small could punch so hard.

Puck was still grumbling and rubbing his shoulder when Harry transfigured a pen, paper and bottle.

"Are we going to throw it in the ocean?" Finn guessed.

"Don't be a dumb ass, Finnessa. Nothing can get out," Puck snapped.

"Don't get mad at me because you got in trouble," Finn retorted.

"Yeah, well I wouldn't have got caught if you hadn't squealed to Harry like a little bitch."

"You were threatening to squish me! What was I supposed to do? I didn't know he would take your wand away."

"Yeah well he did! And it's all your fault!"

Harry looked up from where he was writing to give Puck a glare that actually made him shut up. "Actually, Puck, you were the one who agreed to be responsible. What if the rock had really fallen and Finn got hurt? You'll get the wand back later." Harry turned to talk to Finn. "And no Finn. It's not going in the water. I'm leaving it with the message in the sand so they know where we went."

"That's a really good idea, Harry. You're pretty smart," Puck flattered with a charming smile.

"Suck up," teased Mike, getting a glare from Puck.

"Thank you, Puck. That's sweet. You're still not getting the wand back yet."

Puck groaned while Mike and Finn laughed.

After they place the bottle in the center of of O the four boys set off down the beach. They all kept an eye out for any signs of any other people. Harry began informing Puck about the different branches of magic like transfiguration and charms. Mike and Finn either listened or talked to each other. The day wasn't too hot yet, so time passed rather quickly for Puck who was absorbing the information Harry was sharing like a sponge. It amazed him how accurate some of the bedtime stories his dad had shared were. About 2 hours into the walk Mike suddenly stopped.

"I think I found proof that it's a magical island," Mike stated calmly.

"Why's that?"

Mike pointed to a cliff above them. "Look."

On top of one of the cliffs that seemed to dot the shore line there was a white horse. It was huge, Puck could tell from even this far away. The horse turned to look at them, and Puck suddenly understood what Mike had meant. It wasn't a horse at all, but a unicorn. Puck was amazed, he had never really cared for pretty girly things but even he was speechless. He was starting to feel like his brain was on repeat but Puck couldn't help but think again that magic was awesome. The unicorn caught sight of them and reared up on it's hind legs kicking at the air, before turning tail and running back into the jungle.

"Brittany would have loved this," Puck whispered.


	7. Chapter 7

Harry watched the unicorn gallop away into the jungle and wondered if the others knew exactly how lucky they were to have seen it. They group all stood in silence staring at the spot until Finn broke the moment.

"Hey, Harry. Just a thought, but are there lionturtles in the magic world?"

"Are there what?"

"Lionturtles. On Avatar, they were on this mysterious island and it turns out the whole island is actually the shell of a giant lionturtle."

"Is that the one with the blue cat people that Sam likes?" Puck asked.

"No that's Avatar. He's talking about Avatar: The Last Airbender, you know the one with the kid that has the blue arrow," Mike clarified, for Puck anyway because Harry still had no clue what they were talking about.

"Exactly! So what about it, Harry?"

Before Harry could ask Puck cut him off. "It could just be a regular giant turtle, like in Aladdin."

"Aladdin had genies not giant island turtles. Jeeze, keep up, Puck," Finn said rolling his eyes.

"I think he meant the third one, Finn. The one with Aladdin's dad."

"Yeah, Frankenteen. My sister made me watch it about 100 times. So it has just as much chance being a turtle as a lionturtle."

"Well, the only one who knows would be, Harry."

The three Americans turned to look at Harry as one with expectant faces. "Um...I have no clue what you guys are talking about and I don't think I want to. To answer your really weird questions, no. There are no lionturtles and I really don't think we are on the back of any giant animal of any sort."

Puck and Finn actually looked disappointed at the news so Harry tried to help. "Why don't I take a break from teaching Puck, and I can tell you all about some of the magical animals I do know about. Since if there are unicorns here, there could very well be other creatures."

That got them all smiling again, and as they continued Harry told them about some of the more fantastic beasts he had learned about. Around noon, they finally stopped for lunch. The jungle was gradually thinning out and Harry wanted to make sure they had food before they left it behind. Puck, Finn and Mike ventured into the edges of the jungle with a transfigured satchel looking for food while Harry got the fish.

They were all sitting around eating when Harry noticed Finn sticking food into the cargo pocket in his shorts which was quickly followed by a low humming sound. Harry looked over to Puck and Mike in confusion, hoping for an answer but they seemed just as baffled as he was.

"Uh...Finn? Whatcha doin' there, mate?"

Finn's eyes snapped up from his pocket and quickly looked around to see the other three boys staring at him and immediately turned red and started eating.

"Nothing. What are you talking about? Why are you all looking at me?" Finn quickly asked.

"Dude. You were purring," Puck spoke.

"That wasn't me! That was-" Finn cut himself off, firmly pressing his lips together as his eyes went wide..

"What's in your pocket, Finn?" Mike groaned.

"He was stuck!" Finn defended. "He's harmless I swear. I found him in the jungle when we were getting food." Finn gently covered his pocket trying to shield what ever it was from their curious gazes.

"Is that what took you so long? I thought you were taking a leak. Let's see it then."

"What! No. You'll take him away from me!"

"Finn. We need to see so we know if it is dangerous," Mike consoled.

Finn pouted. "I don't wanna. You'll take him. I know it."

"We won't even touch him if he's not dangerous, Finn. Do you know what it is," Harry asked.

"Well, no. But he's friendly!"

"If you don't know then it is probably magic, and Harry can tell you if he's going to eat us in our sleep."

"Not helping, Puck. Just bring it out so I can see Finn."

"Fine! Just don't hurt him," Finn pleaded and reached into his pocket. A squeak came from in his pocket and Finn pulled out a neon pink puff ball, which then proceeded to roll around in Finn's hand. "You see he's harmless."

"That has to be the gayest thing I have ever seen. And I have met your brother," Puck snickered.

"Shut up, Puck," Finn snapped. "He's not gay. And don't talk about Kurt!"

"Do you know what it is Harry?" Mike asked.

Harry, who had been busy staring at the creature in wonder, snapped out of his daze. "Yeah, I do. It's not dangerous-"

"I told you so!"

"-but it really shouldn't be here."

"Why not? And what is it?"

"It's called a Pygmy Puff. It shouldn't be here because they're not natural. My friends Fred and George, the twins I told you about, they crossbred them in their shop and sold them as pets. There aren't supposed to be any in the wild."

"So how did it get here, was there one on the plane?"

"Not as far as I know. We weren't allowed to bring animals because of security. Otherwise I would have brought my owl."

They were all silent for a moment before Finn broke the silence again.

"So I guess the important question is 'Can I keep him?'"

"Oh, yes, Finn. That is the most important question. Clearly."

"Fuck off, Puck."

"I don't see why not. I wouldn't keep him in your pocket though. They like to ride on your shoulder from what I remember. Or on your head," Harry added with a giggle.

After that lunch went well. It amused Harry to see that for all Puck made fun of the pygmy puff he couldn't keep his hands off it. Harry caught him tickling the pink puff before Finn realized he had gotten a hold of it.

Soon they were back on their way making their way down the beach again. Instead of stories about magic, Harry asked the others to tell him about life was like for them. They had not found any sign that would indicated other humans.

They had left the jungle behind as the landscape had changed into a large sprawling rocky hills covered with lush green grasses. Without the trees blocking their view, the teens finally got a better view of the island without all of the trees. It was huge, much larger than Harry had expected. There were two mountains on the island, one was deep into the jungle and looked to be the smaller of the pair. The other was clearly huge but could barely be seen across the hilly terrain, it was so far away. The worse thing was they beach had completely stopped. Huge sheer cliffs jutted out into the ocean making it impossible to continue they way they had planned.

They were exhausted by the time they decided to make camp, Harry transfiguring the objects the others brought him and them moving it into place. It wasn't really late yet, the sun was still pretty high, but they had to come up with a new plan and after walking all day with no signs they were ready to relax. While Puck got some practice in with _Wingardium Leviosa_ , a little ways down the others collapsed into the sand. Harry looked out at the water, just taking in the beauty. This was exactly the sort of place he had been thinking about visiting. The beach had ended in a cove of sorts, the crystal blue water hit the shore in gentle waves bringing with it a gentle salty breeze that misted them, cooling the boys down a bit in the hot sun.

Harry briefly wondered why he was trying to get off the island. So far this place was perfect. The only worry he had was for his friends, but after he found them he really didn't know what to do after that. This was the vacation he had been waiting for, and he got to spend it with some cool guys who wanted nothing more from him than some interesting stories. Well, except for Puck. Harry looked over to where the boy was concentrating on his spell, trying to float things further and further away from him. Harry was surprised how well he was picking up the magic and figured it was because he was learning the spells at a higher age where more magic was available. It was fun to be teaching again, especially to someone so enthusiastic.

Since the end of fifth year it had been all training and learning with very little fun squeezed in. Dumbledore still insisted he return to Privet Drive because of the blood wards, but the basement was transformed into a training room for Harry. The Dursleys had been furious at first, but the money Dumbledore offered had them shutting up real quick. After the fiasco at the Ministry, the Minister had gotten a special permit for Harry to use magic in his home without restriction.

The next two years had been filled with magical and physical training in between normal classes. Harry had been given potions to correct his eyesight and problems from his upbringing. Those had hurt a lot, but it was deemed required when Harry's body refused to gain the muscle they wished for him to have. Harry knew it all had been necessary, but he was really enjoying his time here. He figured he should keep that quiet from the others, whom he was sure would think it was insane to be enjoying being trapped on an unknown and possibly island.

"If you keep staring, he's going to think you want him."

Harry blushed, realizing that he had zoned off while still staring at Puck and had been caught by a grinning Finn.

"Who says I don't?" Harry replied cheekily causing Finn to blush in return.

"I told you, Finessa. Everyone wants Puckzilla," Puck shouted.

Somehow managing to turn even redder, Harry stood up from the sand. "Yes. Well, I am going to take advantage of this opportunity and go swimming. Can I trust you with the wand, Puck?"

"I told you, dude, it won't happen again."

Harry bent over to remove his shoes and socks before standing. "Good, cause the spell your learning tonight will be pretty fun. I don't want you to have to miss out."

Harry pulled off his shirt throwing it to join his shoes and began to move towards the water before he heard three gasps behind him. Harry cursed his forgetfulness. This was going to be a long conversation he didn't want to have so he ignored the sound and jogged towards the shoreline, sighing in pleasure as the warm water rose around him the further out he moved.

Harry swam around in the water for a few minutes, silently thanking Hermione for teaching him. Suddenly something grabbed his ankle and yanked him underwater before releasing him. He came up spluttering, wand in hand and hex on his lips when he heard the laughter. The others had joined him in the water without him noticing. Puck was directly in front of him, treading water and grinning.

"You really shouldn't do that!" Harry put his wand away before splashing the others who were still laughing. "It's not funny! What if I had actually hexed you!" But they were to busy laughing to listen. Harry let it go, they would learn better not to sneak up on him eventually. He decided on revenge, and lunged forward grabbing onto Puck's wide shoulders and pushed him under the water before swimming away quickly towards Finn and Mike. Harry laughed when he heard Puck come up growling before swimming after him.

They all played around for a while in the water, just enjoying it after the long walk all day. When the sun began to lower, the boys all made their way to the beach. Harry sent a drying and cleaning spell at all of them, but no one bothered to put their shoes or shirts on. The others had already seen, and he trusted them to at least wait to ask questions. Harry sent Puck to get his wand so he could teach him the new spell, and Mike and Finn sat quietly to the side to watch. When Puck returned to the group Harry explained.

"Your new spell is _accio,_ the Summoning spell. What you will be doing is calling an object to you. There is no particular wand movement like with the Levitation Charm, but the trick is you have to visualize what you are summoning clearly in your mind. Unfortunately, it doesn't work on living things, and lots of objects are charmed to resist the spell to prevent theft. Now just like this morning we'll practice a bit and then you can try it on your own while I catch dinner."

Harry and Puck spent the next half hour practicing the spell while the others watched, occasionally laughing when Puck got hit by one of the shells he was summoning. Puck really was a quick study and he picked up the spell much faster than Harry had in fourth year. When Puck got the hang of it, Harry went to capture fish with Mikes help while Finn stayed put so Puck could summon shells out of his hand.

"If you can't summon fish, how have you been catching them?" Mike asked on their way to the shoreline.

"Actually, it's a spell my friend Hermione and myself invented. There is a spell that creates a pocket of air around your head so you can breathe underwater. We altered it a bit to capture fish in a bubble of water. So we can summon the bubble, and not the fish inside. You just drop the bubble into a basket and cancel the spell and you've got yourself a fish."

"Wow, that's really handy. So anyone can invent a spell?"

"Well, not really. It takes a lot of work and research. I came up with the theory, and Hermione made it happen. She's brilliant."

The two carried on chatting while Harry caught enough fish and they carried the basket back to camp. Harry showed Mike how to clean and cook the fish using the knife Harry had given him earlier. When dinner was finished and the others were all sitting around talking, Harry brought up the problem they had come across earlier.

"So, we are going to have to go inland."

Puck sighed. "I was really hoping we would just find Kurt, Tina and your friends and then we could just chill on the beach until someone came to get us."

Harry chuckled at the thought. "While that was a great plan, it doesn't look that's going to happen. So which way should we go?"

"Hey, uh...Harry?"

"Yeah, Finn?"

"Are their ghosts in the magic world?"

"Uh, yeah there are. Why?"

"Because there is a ghost bunny hopping toward us right now."

* * *


	8. Chapter 8

"Because _there is a ghost bunny hopping toward us right now."_

Puck turned to where Finn was pointing and sure enough it looked like there was a ghost rabbit quickly hopping towards them over the rocky hills. Harry gasped and Puck glanced away from the rabbit to see Harry jump to his feet.

"Flibberty! Finn, that's not a ghost, it's a Patronus like Prongs! Merlin, how did I not thing to send Prongs to them?"

"Well, it looks like a ghost bunny to me," Finn grumbled.

By this time the rabbit had reached their camp. It was easy to mistake for a ghost, Puck thought. There were white wisps coming off the small creature as it bounced all around the camp, hopping between the boys. Finally it slowed to a stop in front of Harry who was looking awfully expectant. Puck watched the rabbit, amazed when it began to speak.

"Harry? Have you been captured by the Galumping Gorloft? It's been doing that a lot lately." The voice was obviously a girl, light and spacey. When the message was complete the rabbit faded away leaving the four boys stunned.

"She's here! I need to reply," Harry was practically jumping with excitement. Harry called up Prongs again and began to speak to him. "Luna! I'm glad you are ok. Are you safe? Who is with you? Where are you? I'm sorry I didn't think to send Prongs to you sooner!"

After he sent the message they all watched the stag fade into the distance and waited for a return message.

Harry was muttering to himself. "I can't believe I didn't think. I was so distracted trying to figure a way out I completely ignored the most obvious solution."

Puck reached a hand over to pat Harry's bare shoulder. "Hey, man. Don't worry about it. You can't think of everything. No one's perfect. Except for me, of course."

His statement worked to bring a small smile to Harry's face. Within minutes another white form appeared to be making its way toward them, but instead of a rabbit it was a huge sea turtle. The turtle looked like it was flying as it swam through the air and went directly to Harry and circled him once before speaking, this time it was a boy's deep voice.

"Harry! Good to hear from ya, mate. We're safe for the moment. We woke up on a beach with a bunch of muggles but most of them disappeared. Luna thinks it's a Gargling Gorgon. Oh...I'm being told it's actually a Galumping Gorloft. All that's left is me, Luna, two muggles and... Malfoy. Where are you? Are you safe?"

"It could be Tina and Kurt! Harry, you have to ask if it's them!" Finn exclaimed.

They watched as another stag appeared. "Neville, I'm glad your safe. I'm with two...er three muggles. They know about magic now. The same thing happened here with the muggles disappearing. The blokes with me are looking for friends they had on the plane. They're names are Puck, Mike and Finn and they are looking for Kurt and Tina. We are on the beach now, but were planning to move inland tomorrow. We need to meet up. Have you seen Snape?"

When the stag was gone again Puck turned to Harry. "Why did you say three muggles? I'm a wizard, man." Internally Puck was giggling like a little girl. He would never tire of saying that.

"I know, but I didn't want to have to explain it this way and your friends would tell them you were a muggle. We still don't know what's going on so it will be easier in person."

"So when can I get one of those things?"

"You mean a Patronus? They are really advanced magic. Just producing one takes a lot of practice and using them to send messages takes even more. Most adult wizards can't even do it. I can teach you, but I don't think it will be any time soon."

"If most can't then how come you and your friends can?" Mike asked.

Harry shrugged. "I had to learn when I was 13. They can be used to fight of certain creatures that I was having a problem with. In my fifth year I lead a study group and I taught all of my friends how to do it. "

"So everyone's is different then?"

"Well, I'm sure some overlap. You don't get to choose your Patronus' shape. Sometimes they are the same animal as your animagus form could be, which is kind of like a spirit animal. It represents you as a person. And sometimes, like me, they take the form of an important person in your life, someone you love. They have been known to change as people do. I was glad mine never did when I went through animagus training."

Puck wanted to know what his would be. It would be cool to know what animal represented him. It was probably something badass like a t-rex or maybe a basilisk. Something Harry said caught Puck's attention though.

"Wait. Animagus training? That means you can change into an animal, right?"

"Yeah, I am. It took me over two years to get it. I finally accomplished it a few months ago. You know you really are picking all this up very quickly. You must have done well in school."

Puck snorted. "Don't change the subject. What kind of animal can you turn into? You're not going to make me guess that too, are you?"

"You would never guess," Harry said waving a hand as if to dismiss the possibility.

"Hey! I'm already working on guessing on how that magic cop knew who you were. Don't think I forgot about that. I bet you I could guess that too, no problem."

"Well, I'm here to keep you entertained."

"I can think of better ways to keep us both entertained," Puck flirted with a grin.

Harry blushed and turned away quickly, "Oh, look. Here comes Titan."

"Hmm... saved by the turtle."

The Partronus stopped in front of Harry again.. "How extraordinary. What are the odds? Kurt and Tina are with us. Tina said to tell Mike she loves him, and Kurt said to tell Finn to not get into too much trouble. We haven't seen Snape since the crash. Malfoy lost his wand in the crash. so I had to send Titan to find him. I never got a return so I don't know if the bat is just ignoring me or can't answer. Can you see the big dark looking mountain from where you are? We could meet there?"

Mike and Finn had huge grins on their faces, as they gave Harry their return messages.

"How long do you think it would take us to make it to the mountain," Mike asked.

"I can't see past these hills, so we don't really know the terrain. The island is pretty huge, so I would guess based on how far we went today probably two days if there are no problems. We can catch fish in the morning, and I will freeze it to bring with us so we don't have to worry about food. What do you guys think?"

"I think I'm tired of fish. Can't we catch some chickens or something?"

"Tell you what, Finn, you catch yourself some chicken, I'll cook it for you," Harry told him causing Finn to perk up a bit and Puck to roll his eyes. "Until then it's fish, the fruit you guys got before we left the jungle and what ever we find on they way. So we have a plan?"

They all agreed and Harry sent the message. They agreed to message if anything went wrong, other wise they would be meeting at the base of the mountain in two days.

"I need to get word to Snape, too," Harry said as he produced another Prongs. "Professor, we are unsure if you are receiving messages. I just wanted to let you know Longbottom, Lovegood, Malfoy and myself are safe and will be meeting up at the base of the largest mountain on the island in two days. Meet us, or get a message to me if you can."

As Harry sent the message to his teacher Puck had been thinking. While Finn and Mike were excitedly talking about meeting up with their friends, Puck leaned closer to Harry.

"Deer," Puck guessed.

"What? Oh! No. Not a stag."

"Wolf?"

"No."

"Llama?"

"Really? No."

"Snake?"

"Nope," Harry replied, popping the P.

"Flamingo?"

"I'm not that gay. No."

Puck snickered at that. "Hawk?"

"Nu-uh. Don't you think if I could fly I would have already?"

"Good point. So no birds. Can you at least give me a hint," Puck begged.

"Fine. Um..." Harry looked thoughtful for a moment. "I have fur," he revealed, sliding a hand down his chest and stomach as if petting himself. The movement might have been innocent, but the thoughts that popped into Puck's head were decidedly not.

Puck snapped back to the conversation. "Fur? Really? Neat. So when I guess right, and I will get it eventually, will you show me?"

"Maybe, depends." Harry stood up and held out the wand he had taken from Puck after their earlier training. "You want to practice some more?"

Puck rolled his eyes and stood up reaching out for the wand. "Do you really have to ask?"

Even though the spells he was learning were pretty easy, Puck still got a thrill every time a shell came zooming towards him. To be honest, he could be pulling a rabbit out of a hat and he would still be happy. How many people got to have an impossible dream and have it come true? Knowing that is was him that was making a rock float through the air was still unbelievable. Puck had never been one for learning or school, but right now he wanted nothing more than to learn everything possible when it came to magic. The plane crash was quickly turning into the best thing that had ever happened to him.

The light was fading fast, but they were able to get some practice in before they couldn't see any more outside the light from the fire and the bright moon. Harry took the wand back from Puck before stretching and yawning.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm tired. We're gonna have quite a walk tomorrow and I want to be rested. I'll see you in the morning." With that Puck watched Harry's still bare back as he made his way into one of the two tents that had been set up on the beach. Puck wondered at what he saw there, but still hadn't asked. Harry had run for the ocean when they first saw his back and the boys had shared a look before wisely taking the hint. Puck had been surprised, they all were. He didn't really know why it was a problem, but he knew better than to make the wizard angry. They figured Harry would explain when he chose to.

Once Harry was out of sight, Puck looked back to his boys to find them staring at him with huge grins on their faces. Puck slouched in his chair trying for nonchalance. "So...Kurt and Tina are safe. What do you think they are doing over there with their own wizards?"

This worked to distract them, and the two were off again. They were both excited to know they were safe, and Puck was glad for them. While he wasn't close with Tina or Kurt, Puck was relieved they were safe at least with someone who could protect them. Harry had given enough clues to know that his friends on the island had had some sort of training with him and if Harry had done even half the stuff he had talked about then they were in safe hands.

"So how is it with wizard training?" Finn asked excitedly a few minutes later.

"You've been there, man. You are learning the same shit."

"Yeah, but I'll never be able to use it. It's different, Puck, you know it is."

"I know, I know. It's...I don't even know how to explain it. You know when we were kids and for like a whole year you wanted to be an astronaut. We'll imagine if one day you woke up on the moon. That's how it feels, dude. I'm on the moon."

Mike giggled while batting his eyelashes. "Oh, how poetic, Noah."

Puck kicked sand at the boy. "Shut up, _Other Asian._ You're just jealous I get a hot teacher."

"Yes, Puck. You've figured me out," Mike replied, rolling his eyes.

Finn gasped, clutching the pink pygmy puff to his chest. "Really, Mike?"

Puck and Mike groaned in unison. Finn would never change. "Oh, shut up, Finessa. Give me the cotton ball. I wanna see it."

Finn held the Puff tighter. "No, Puck! Harry said I could keep him."

"Come on, man. I just wanna see it," Puck pleaded, giving the taller teen his best puppy dog eyes.

Finn sighed, but held out the pink ball and Puck scooped him into his hand. Puck would never say it out loud, but it was adorable the way the Puff could coo when he petted it.

"What are you going to name it?" Mike asked Finn.

"I already did. His name is Max."

"He doesn't look anything like a Max. He looks like a she and her name should be Barbie," Puck broke in absentmindedly, focused on the making the to-be-named puff giggle.

"I am not naming him Barbie!"

"Oh come on! She's neon pink! Barbie is the perfect name," Puck argued.

"No, dude. When you get a cool magic animal you can name it whatever you want, but I am not naming him Barbie. Not happening," Finn declared. Puck pouted while Mike just laughed at the both of them.

Knowing they had a tough couple of days ahead of them the three glee kids went to sleep soon after. When he entered the tent Harry was already asleep, so he quietly readied for bed. Puck could only hope the next day would be as easy as they day they had just had. After all, how bad could it be?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Harry's animagus form won't be revealed for a couple of chapters, but he will be revealing hints. You are more than welcome to guess along with Puck.


	9. Chapter 9

It was hot in the tent when Harry awoke early the next morning. A few sweltering moments later, Harry figured out why. Somehow in his sleep Harry had ventured over to Puck's side of the tent and was now entangled with the mohawked teen, who it turns out the human embodiment of a space heater.

Despite the temperature, Harry was actually quite comfy curled up on the other boy's fit chest. Puck was on his back and Harry had cuddled up to his side. His head was tucked under Puck's chin, and he could feel the boy's arm wrapped around his waist. He took a moment to savor the feeling of waking up with someone for the first time, though this was not how he had thought it would happen.

Harry had every intention of moving in a moment, to carefully climb out of the embrace he had fallen into. However, the subtle sounds of the waves breaking against the sand and the rhythmic rise and fall of Puck's chest underneath him conspired together to lull Harry back to sleep without his permission.

When Harry woke up again it was brighter in the tent and the ground beneath him was shaking. Slightly panicked, Harry scrambled up only to see Puck wide awake and grinning at him shaking with badly concealed laughter. Harry sent him a silent glare from his original side of the tent, the only reaction being Puck full out laughing.

"You know, Harry," Puck said through his laughter, "I didn't know you were such a cuddle whore. Sneaking up on me in my sleep like that, I almost feel taken advantage of."

Harry valiantly fought off his blush and tried to appear confident. "Yes, well. I did catch you dinner first," Harry replied with a wink.

"Don't worry, Harry. You can cuddle me anytime," Puck answered, fluttering his eyelashes.

"Oh, ha ha. Very funny. Can't say I'm too sorry, though. I haven't slept that well in-" Harry tried to think of the last time he had woken up this refreshed. "Hmm... well a while at least."

Puck sat up, stretching his arms over his head. "I know what you mean, man. I feel great. Who would have thought being in a plane crash would be so relaxing?"

"You know, I've been thinking the same thing. It's kind of like a resort island. I mean, barring the disappearing people, the random magical creatures and the mysterious barrier preventing anything from leaving of course."

Puck chuckled. "Yeah, besides all that."

Together they left the tent, finding their discarded clothing from the day before which Harry hit with a few cleaning spells before dressing. The morning air was cold on his skin compared to just minutes before in the tent. The sun had already risen, so Harry knew they had slept later than they should have. Puck and Harry were the first to awake still, so the others were woken up quickly.

Packing up for the coming trip became a group effort. Puck caught the fish, Mike cleaned them, Finn put the pieces into transfigured containers and Harry cast charms taught to him by Mrs. Weasley on the containers to keep the food fresh and packed them in a backpack separate from the fruit satchel. By the time they were finished packing enough for two days worth, Puck had gotten a good grip on the summoning spell when he couldn't see what he was summoning.

"Now we stink. Like bad, man," Finn complained.

Harry agreed, and cast the cleaning charm at all of them quickly, and after a moments thought transfigured their tennis shoes into hiking boots.

Mike flexed his fingers. "You know, I look clean and smell clean, but it still feels...off somehow. Like the fish guts are there but not there."

"Yeah. _Scourgify_ can only do so much. We have got to get moving if we want to get there in time. That mountain is all the way on the other side of the island, it's probably 100 miles from here, and we don't any clue what is between us and it."

"Don't be such a downer, dude," Puck told Harry with a playful shove to his shoulder. "Yesterday was great, today is going to be no problem."

"He's right, Puck. In all those moves all the bad stuff is in the middle of the island, which we have to pass through." Mike shifted, thinking about that. "Maybe we should just head back the way we came until we get to the other side?"

"Who knows how long that would take? We don't even know for sure how big the island is! It could take days extra and we said we would be there in two."

"I know Finn, but what if it safer? That's more important. Right?"

"I'm telling you guys. It's safe," Puck shouted. "Look we can see the first mile or so no problem and there's nothing there! Just hills, rocks, and grass. Yeah, it's gonna suck walking over that, but it will be better than going back the way we came. Plus we got a ninja spy kid wizard with us. Right, Harry?"

"First, I told you I'm not a ninja spy. Second, of course I would protect you, guys. The quicker we get to our friends, the better I think. Sorry, Mike."

Mike threw his hands up. "Fine, but if something happens I reserve the right to stick out my tongue and say 'I told you so'."

"Duly noted. Shall we go now?"

"And so the four new friends set off through uncharted territory. The veteran wizard, the newbie wizard, the wanna-be doctor and the loveable goofball with his side-kick Max. With the sea behind them and the mysterious hills before them, they began their journey in good spirits. Who knows what would become of them? Who knows what secrets that beautiful green landscape hid from them?"

"Hey, Finn? Can you not do that?"

"Do what, Harry," Finn asked innocently.

"The creepy deep narrator voice, Frankenteen," Puck said.

"Fine! I thought we could use some more drama. Rachel is always talking about drama."

"We crashed in a plane on an mysterious magical island. I don't think we need your voice over for drama, Finn," Mike told him.

They began to climb the nearest hill together. Harry noted it was kind of odd the way that the beach just ended and this whole new environment started up. It even seemed like the weather was different. On the beach it had been warm and dry, with a slight salty breeze, but as they moved into the grass before the hills it was as if the temperature dropped slightly and the air was very moist and a constant wind. It wasn't enough to want to change his clothes and none of the others mentioned it, so Harry dismissed it.

The group naturally paired off as they walked, Mike and Finn a few yards in front of Harry and Puck. The walk was more physical than yesterday so Harry was unable to talk as much as the day before but still made conversation with Puck as they climbed up and down the hills.

"So, who's waiting for you once we get off the island?" Harry asked curiously.

"It's just my ma and sister. My pop split when I was a kid, and I stepped up to be the man of the house. I got in trouble a few years back and the few weeks I was locked up were tough on them. Ma's a worrier. I bet their at temple right now."

"It's good. That they care about you, I mean."

"Yeah. If it wasn't for my ma I never would have got through the whole Beth scandal. She was disappointed, you know? But she really helped me out."

"Is Beth your girlfriend," Harry asked, fearing the answer. His worry was quickly wiped away by the shocked look on Puck's face.

"Fuck, no, dude! She's my daughter!"

Now it was Harry's turned to be shocked. "Your daughter? Wow."

"Sorry, I forget not everyone knows. It was a huge thing in our school, and I'm still catching shit over it."

"Why?"

Puck's gaze flicked to Finn a little ways ahead of them. "It's kind of a long story."

"We've got nothing but time, Puck."

"Fine, but just remember it wasn't my greatest moment, ok?" Harry nodded. "In sophomore year I got a girl pregnant. Which wouldn't have been so interesting by itself, 'cause at that time I slept around a lot. The problem was the girl I got pregnant was head cheerleader and leader of the celibacy club. The worse part was she was the girlfriend of the quarterback, who was my best friend."

"Oops."

"Yeah. Oops. She was a virgin before me, and when she found out she was pregnant she knew it was mine. Her and her boyfriend had never had sex, but she convinced him that she had gotten pregnant when he got off in the hot tub they were sharing. She didn't want me to have anything to do with her or the baby, but I did. I thought I was in love with her, and I just wanted to be a dad like mine never was."

"Did the boyfriend slash best friend find out?"

"Oh yeah. We are all in Glee together, and in glee club nothing ever stays secret for very long. I wanted to make it work, but she kept telling me I couldn't provide or be a good role model. I tried to get a job, give her money but it was never enough and she still wouldn't let me be a part of the baby's life. One night I got drunk and tried to steal an ATM to try and get money for her. It was stupid, obviously, and I got arrested before I even left the parking lot. I was in juvie for two months.  Quinn decided to give the baby up for adoption, so in the end I lost my kid and my best friend. It was not a great time in my life."

Puck had been walking close to Harry so he didn't have to talk loud. He was close enough so Harry ran a hand up and down Puck's back in a comforting gesture. "Damn."

Puck took a deep breath and stood up straighter. "Yeah. But eventually he forgave me, we don't really talk about it. I get to see my daughter, Beth, too. It was an open adoption, and her new mom is pretty great. I kind of realized I wasn't ready to be a dad yet anyway. I still love Beth like crazy though."

Harry was silent for a moment. "So, no er... girlfriend waiting for you then?"

Puck laughed. "Real smooth. No, no girlfriend or boyfriend either. Subtle, man. Almost as subtle as your hand on my ass."

Harry, who just realized his hand was still resting on Puck's lower back, squeaked and yanked his hand away. "My hand wasn't on your arse, Puck! See if ever try to comfort you again." Harry huffed and sped up his walking leaving Puck to trail after him.

"Oh come on, man. I was just playing!"

Harry ignored the boy and kept speed walking, which was deceptively hard to do when climbing a hill but Harry managed.

"Harrrry. Don't ignore me."

Still somewhat embarrassed, Harry kept ignoring him, no matter how cute his pleading sounded. He knew if he turned around and saw those gorgeous hazel eyes they would be in puppy dog pose, and he wasn't sure he could resist.

"Harry! I'll let you touch my ass again," Puck singsonged.

Harry gasped and whirled. "For the last time I was not-" Harry's words cut off when he got a glimpse of what was behind him. Sure enough Puck had huge puppy dog eyes, but what made him cut off was what was behind Puck, who had no clue he was in danger if the grin on his face was anything to go by.

Whatever they were had a humanoid shape: two arms, two legs a head and torso, but that was where the similarities ended. They looked to be made of some sort of gnarled bark twisted around itself to give a shape, and at places you could see through holes in its body to the hills behind. Their faces looked like a wooden mask, it's eyes carved out and glowing yellow. Their whole bodies glowed with a sickly yellow light swirling in and out, emanating from the cavities in their chests where it was brightest. There were two of them and they were huge, one at 15 feet tall and the other a few feet taller. The smaller one carried a large club while the larger creature had no weapon.

Harry had no clue where they came from. They had just passed that hill and there was nothing there. Just because he was talking to Puck did not mean he wasn't aware of his surroundings are whatever they were, they had definitely not been there minutes ago. Now, however, they were only about 25 yards from an oblivious Puck. They weren't moving yet, only watching the group.

"See, even you can't-"

"Puck! Shut up!" Harry hissed lowly, ignoring the shocked look that appeared on the teen's face at the harsh tone. "Walk towards me, quickly. Do NOT turn around."

Of course, Puck didn't listen. As soon as Harry said not to, Puck turned and screamed, "Holy shit!" then finally ran towards Harry, scrambling up the side of the hill.

The scream had two effects. One, Mike and Finn who had been ignoring the two while they talked turned around and also began yelling. The second, and worse effect, was the creatures glow turned from yellow to a slightly familiar green and they seemed to focus heavily on the boys, before moving forward quickly. They were so large the ground actually trembled as they stomped forwards.

Harry gripped the back of Puck's shirt as he was losing grip on the hillside and yanked him further up. "Move! Run!"

Harry and Puck caught up to Finn and Mike in moments and they ran for their lives. They boys ran fast, but the creatures were too large to out run. A green beam of light flew past the boys hitting the grass, which instantly withered and turned brown. Harry suddenly knew why that shade of green was so familiar. Spotting an outcropping of rock slightly ahead, Harry pointed them towards it. They were all hiding when another light struck the stone, thankfully not getting through, but the creatures were getting closer.

"What they hell are they!" Finn screamed.

"I don't know! Stay down! Do not get hit by that light!" Harry yelled over loud pounding of the monster's feet against the ground. He moved to the side where there was a gap in between two of the rocks leaving the others protected in the center. He peeked out the side of the rock in time to see the larger of the two send another green beam of light out of the center of his wooden hand. Harry ducked back in time to avoid being hit, and as soon as the light dimmed took his aim at the creatures.

" _Bombarda Maxima!_ " The spell it the smaller creature in the arm not holding the club, severing the lower half which fell to the ground. Almost immediately the wood from the upper arm began to grow, reforming what had fallen. Another green light formed heading straight for Harry, making him duck back in.

"Shit! They regenerate!" Harry turned to the others, taking in their scared faces. He cast his best group shield over them, the purple light formed a dome over the three teens. "Stay here. I fucking mean it. You move and they will be the least of your problems. Got it?" After getting a nod, Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath and moved to the opening he had been using. Harry quickly cast an advanced shield upon himself, before stepping though the opening towards the creatures.

He couldn't let them get close enough to come around the rock. No shield would protect the others against the _Avada Kevdavra_ and, unless he was mistaken, what ever that creature was sending out was exactly like it. Harry had seen enough people be struck by that light, he couldn't let them be helpless. Harry quickly ran from the outcropping protecting his friends, dodging the flashing green flight. He sent another Blasting curse, this time catching the larger one in the knee. It stumbled for a moment, but seemed to regenerate even faster than the smaller. The curse wasn't even effective enough to amputate.

Harry ran fast, leading the creatures away. He thought faster. They had heads and what looked to function as heart, and they were made of what appeared to be wood. The smaller one was obviously weaker as it relied on a club and did not regenerate as fast, so Harry would concentrate his attacks on that one first while doing his best to avoid both. He ran to the closest hill, scrambling up quickly enough that the monsters where still in the valley between. He quickly aimed two Blasts at the smaller, one hit the head and the second missed. The head was already regenerating when Harry sent his next curse after dodging a curse from the quickly approaching larger one.

" _Flagare Penitus_!" The charm hit dead center of the smaller creatures chest. Flame and smoke began to pour out the cavity, and it screamed. The sound was indescribable, worse than Harry could ever have imagined. The larger one ceased it's pursuit of Harry and turned to look down at it's fallen companion. The green light from the taller creature grew and grew, throwing shadows even in the light of day. Harry watched immobile as the creature collapsed to the ground, thick smoke pouring out of the burning and charred wood and still it screamed until suddenly all sound and movement stopped abruptly.

The land was silent. Nothing moved, not even Harry. He couldn't shake the feeling that he had just done something wrong, even though he was protecting the life of himself and others. The larger creature let out a tremendous roar with what Harry could describe as mourning. The light from the monster was now so bright it actually hurt Harry's eyes. It started forward, raising it's hand to Harry. Even though it felt wrong somehow, Harry hadn't come this far to be killed. He wouldn't sacrifice his life and the life of his friends for this creature. Before the hand could make it's complete assent to aim, Harry fired off the same curse that had killed the smaller creature. It his the monster in it's chest, but instead of fire and smoke the light flashed and seemed to absorb the curse and still the hand fired.

Harry panicked and began to shoot off every curse he could think of while dodging and running, but still the light only flared and the creature came for him again and again. He climbed the next hill and still it chased, Harry backing away as he fired unable to turn his back. His foot caught a rock and down he fell over the other side of the hill, smashing into rocks as he tumbled. When he came to a stop Harry lay in the small valley between two hills, unable to move. He watched as the creature appeared over the edge, and fire last curse he could think. " _Avada Kedevra_!" Still the light only flared, and Harry knew this was it. He couldn't move to run and nothing could kill it.

From the hill opposite the creature came a loud growl. Harry froze, and was amazed when the creature did as well. They both looked to the hill where the loud growl was coming from. "Bloody hell," Harry groaned. Atop the hill was a large wolf, taller than a horse. It's shaggy coat was a dark emerald green, and behind it Harry could see three braided tails whipping back and forth as it crouched and snarled. Harry saw it still, then leap and knew he was done for.

But the wolf missed him, leaped right over his prone form lying on the grassy floor to land right between him and the creature. The wolf snapped and snarled, saliva falling from it's curled lips. The wooden creature growled and moaned, and they faced off until the light of the creature began to dim, slowly fading away to the yellow it had been when Harry first saw it. After minutes of silence, the creature turned and made it's way back the way it had chased Harry. The wolf watched it go, completely still in its crouched form. More minutes passed as Harry pondered his fate, what this wolf would do.

Harry shifted his leg from where he had fallen on it, trying not to draw the attention of the wolf, but a sharp pain tore through him and he let out a gasp. The wolf turned on him and Harry held his breath as he met the eyes of the huge animal. Harry was amazed to note the bright lavender gaze as the wolf seemed to search his own. They stayed that way until a pain in Harry's chest informed him that he had stopped breathing, and he sucked in air. The wolf walked closer and Harry tried to back away, but the movement shot more pain through him and he whimpered.

The wolf like creature stopped a few feet from Harry and lowered it's massive frame to the ground. Even laying down it was taller than Padfoot when he was standing up. A few moments passed and the wolf began inching his way closer to Harry. It wasn't snarling or even growling, it was watching Harry as if concerned for him.

As it crawled forward Harry couldn't help but plead in a whisper, "Please don't eat me. Please don't eat me. Please don't eat me."

The wolf stopped and snorted as if amused at Harry's fear, which for some reason annoyed him. Harry wasn't positive, but he was pretty sure when faced with 10 foot tall wolf the appropriate reaction should not be annoyance.

"Well, excuse me for being scared, but you could eat me in one bite and still have room for dessert!"

The wolf shook it's head.

"No you wouldn't eat me? Or no you wouldn't have room for dessert?"

The wolf thumped his massive tails on the ground once.

"Oh, that's comforting. Wait! You can understand me?" Harry yelped.

The wolf gave him a look, Harry would swear he rolled his eyes, and nodded.

"Am I speaking a different language, cause the last time this happened I started hissing. So am I barking or something?"

The wolf shook his head again.

"Ok. So, um thank you for helping me and also for not eating me. That was really awesome but...er...not to be rude or anything but what do you want?"

The wolf continued on it's crawl forward and nudged Harry's not hurt leg with its nose, which happened to be the size of his hand.

"I don't get it."

The wolf huffed and fell on to it's side an carefully wiggled until he was laying on Harry's side and Harry's hand was in his fur. Harry mentally noted that the shaggy hair was quite clean. He ran his hands through the coarse coat, marveling at the emerald color.

"So you want to be my pet?" Harry asked confused.

The wolf yelped and jumped up to his full height. He was shorter than Fluffy the cerberus, but Harry still had to crane his neck up to see the wolf's face from where he was still laying.

"So not a pet then?"

The wolf huffed and shook his head dramatically.

"So..companion then?"

The wold seemed to think about it for a moment, then nodded.

"Your not going to eat my friends are you? Cause that's a deal breaker."

The wolf rolled his eyes again and shook his head.

"Alright, well you can join us. I have to get over to them though. Do you think you could help me out? I can fix this, but it will take a while and I want to make sure they are alright."

The wolf nodded and lowered himself to the ground once more, confusing Harry until it nudged his leg than glanced to his back.

"You want me to ride you? You sure?"

It nodded. Harry looked into his eye's warily but the wolf seemed innocent, despite the fact that it had stared down a giant tree monster so Harry carefully rose up on his good leg and maneuvered on to the wolf's back. It was painful, but less than if he had tried to walk over with the wolf's help like he had planned.

"You know, if this is some nefarious plot to bring me back to your cave to eat me, it's working," Harry informed the wolf as he wrapped his hands in the long green fur. The wolf chuffed and rose gracefully to his feet. Harry looked down to find himself about 6 feet of the ground and gripped a little tighter as the wolf began to trot towards the outcropping.

"Now I know how Emily Elizabeth felt," Harry grumbled.*

It wasn't very comfortable but Harry was thankful. He hadn't realized how far he had run, but making it over those hills by himself would have been impossible. It took a few moments, but finally the outcropping was in sight.

"Can you slow down for a minute," Harry whispered to the wolf. As it slowed Harry shouted out, "You guys alright?"

"Harry! You're ok! We thought you were done for!" Puck shouted from behind the rock.

"Hey, I'm coming back. I've got a...friend with me. Don't freak out. OK?"


	10. Chapter 10

Puck was kind of amazed that he had basically shared the most painful part of his life with someone he met only two days ago. He was even more amazed that he wasn't bothered about that at all. Somewhere between all the magic lessons and stories Harry had become pretty damn important, and not just because the green eyed boy was his only link to magic.

It could have been the way he patiently explained anything Puck asked about the magical world. It might have something to do with the look on Harry's face anytime he talked about his past. Puck wasn't stupid and Harry had let some pretty big pieces of information slip. Obviously the boy had been though a lot in his seventeen years, but still found sympathy with Puck's teenage high school drama. And, ok, it could probably be the way Harry had felt in his arms that morning when Puck woke up with a face full of wild raven hair and drool sliding down his chest.

To be honest it was probably a mix of all those things plus more that Puck couldn't even define that had drawn him to Harry. He couldn't even name what he felt for the teen, but what ever it was had him frozen in fear as he watched Harry squeeze between the boulders and out of sight. If fact, he was more scared now than when he had first turned around to see the giant tree monsters behind him.

Hearing a story about a small boy fighting a giant beast was completely different than watching it happen and knowing you can't do anything about it. He sat there completely helpless as Harry went off to slay monsters to keep them safe. Magic had always been his dream, and up until this moment it had been a dream. Find a wand on the beach and bam! magic. See a pretty unicorn or a fluffy pink ball, wave the wand a bit make a rock or two float. It was all something out of a fairy tale. Even listening to Harry talk about what he had been through were stories, fantastic tales. He knew they were probably real, had seen the scars, but it just hadn't _clicked_.

Seeing Harry's face as he told them to stay there, that was the catalyst. That's when it clicked. This was a whole new world and he had no fucking clue what the rules where. What was possible and what was impossible? Cause if you had asked Puck a week ago, he would have told you it was pretty damned impossible to almost piss yourself in fear of a goddamned tree.

Harry's face though, he couldn't help but see it is his mind as he sat there listening to Harry's voice shouting over the rumbling from the running monsters and explosions. He had seen Harry's face a lot in the last few days, had watched the other teen blush when Puck flirted. Puck had seen Harry laugh over their stupid stories. He had even seen Harry angry when he talked about his past. That had been a bit scary, to see this small teen sparking with magic and angry but that had been easy to dismiss. A few jokes and Harry was laughing and talking again.

Puck knew, without a doubt, he would never dismiss the look on Harry's face then. It made all those badasses in juvie look like schoolyard bullies. It was like the boy transformed into a soldier right before their eyes. It was hard to remember the same boy who had blushed and scrambled off him this morning was the man in front of them. He resolved never to make a comment about his own badassness again. No amount of tough talk or punching would make this problem go away. But he also resolved to learn everything he possibly could about the magic world. How could he expect to protect himself let alone anyone else if he was content to float rocks and catch fish. Puck wondered if it was normal for his new hero and role model to be the same age as him.

A loud cry cut through his thoughts. Puck could only assume it was one of the monsters, but how could a monster's cry be so heart wrenching. Puck listened as it screamed, the sound was too much for him. He tried to cover his ears but the sound couldn't be stopped. The cries cut off abruptly and it was eerily quiet, nothing made a sound until a deep bellow of rage and grief tore through the air. Puck wiped angrily at his face, his fingers coming away wet. These were monsters! They were not supposed to have feelings, or cause any in him! Out of the corner of his eye he saw Mike and Finn copying the gesture themselves.

The slamming of the earth as the giant ran grew farther away until it was silent behind their rock. Minutes passed and still no sign of the monsters or Harry.

"Do you think he's alright?" Finn asked quietly.

"I don't know, Finn. He looked...he looked like he knew what he was doing," Mike answered.

"Should we go and find him?"

"No!" Puck snapped. "He went out there to protect us! It would be shitty to go against that and get ourselves killed by not listening. Plus what the hell are we gonna do? Throw rocks at it? No, we stay here. His shield is still up, so he has to be ok. He has to," Puck trailed off in a whisper to himself.

More minutes passed in silence, Puck straining his ears with hope to catch any slight sound. Suddenly Harry's voice rang out from the other side of the rock. Puck hadn't even heard him come up.

"You guys alright?"

"Harry! You're ok! We thought you were done for!" Puck jumped up from where he had been sitting leaned against the rock, but he still didn't leave from inside the purple shield.

"Hey, I'm coming back. I've got a...friend with me. Don't freak out. OK?"

The first thing Puck say come around the corner was a huge, green, hairy paw. The paw was shortly followed by a wolf the size of a Clydesdale he had seen at a fair once, which Puck supposed was appropriate because Harry was riding it like one. Beside him Finn yelped and scrambled backwards. Puck was looking at Harry, who seemed to be at ease on the huge creature.

"Hey, Harry? What uh...what's that?" Mike asked, his voice quivering slightly.

"I don't really know, but he helped me out and chased one of those monsters away. He said he wouldn't eat me and offered to give me a ride, so I think he's safe."

"He said?" Finn squeaked.

"Yeah. Looks like he can understand English, said he wanted to join us." Harry untangled the one of his hands from the the long shaggy fur and patted the side of the wolf's neck. "Can you let me down?" The wolf gracefully laid on the ground, and Harry slid a leg over to drop the few inches to the ground. As soon as one of his legs hit, he let out a pained cry and fell to the ground. Puck ran to him, the shield bursting as soon as he passed through.

He was by Harry's side in a moment, helping the boy to sit. "What is it? Did you get hit?"

"No, I fell. Pretty sure I broke something, but I didn't want to waste time getting over here. I needed to know you all were safe," Harry told him.

"We are all fine. Can I help you fix it?" Puck offered.

"Uh. Yeah. Just give me a minute." Puck watched as Harry ran diagnostic charms over himself, detailing everything for Puck's benefit. The only help he could offer was to hold Harry's leg straight when he cast the spell to fix it. Minutes later, Harry was fixed but tired. He insisted on a ward around them, so Puck steadied him with an arm around his waist as he walked in a large circle casting the temporary ward. Puck helped him to sit leaning against the rocks as the others got out the food so they could eat.

"So... what happened, Harry?" Finn asked tentativel. They were siting in a rough circle and the wolf was still laying the the same spot, it's massive head laying on it's paws at it watched them.

Harry sighed, closed his eyes and let his head fall back against the stone. He spoke without looking at them, but all three of them were riveted anyway. "I tried to lead them away from you. Every time I sent a spell at them they would regenerate as if it never happened. The wood from their bodies would just grow up around the holes like it never even happened. I figured that if they were made of wood, then the solution would be fire. I used a spell taught in Herbology for burning piles of plant clippings. It basically starts a fire from the inside out." Harry shivered. "I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't what happened. It just started screaming. It had been trying to kill me, but I stood there watching it burn and just knew that I had done something wrong."

Harry went silent for a moment, then lifted his head up to look them in the eye. "But I would do it again, and I did. I sent the same spell at the other one, even though I knew it was wrong. I have fought too long and hard to give up, not when I have the power to do something about it. I wouldn't-" Harry's voice broke slightly "I wouldn't have attacked them if they had left us alone. I wasn't looking to hurt them, but I had to protect us even if t was at their expense." Harry looked at them as if trying to plead for understanding.

"I know, Harry. We heard when it- well we heard," Puck told him gently.

It was silent a moment before Finn spoke. "So did you kill them both?"

Harry flinched slightly. "No. I sent the spell, but it didn't hit. Nothing I did would effect it. It just kept coming. I got cornered and tripped, fell down a hill. I ended up on my back, unable to move as the creature came over the hill. I was done for, but he saved me," Harry said pointing to the wolf. "Came right over another hill and just launched himself right over me and landed between us. It was insane, he was terrifying. The creature must have thought so too, because after a few minutes it just turned around and left. The rest you know. He decided to come with us and gave me a ride back," Harry finished. He let his head fall back against the rock, closing his eyes again.

"For what it's worth, Harry, thank you. We would have died without you," Puck said lowly. Harry gave a slight nod, but didn't open his eyes. Puck decided to let Harry rest for the moment, he definitely looked like he needed it. The huge green wolf had stayed silent the entire time its three long tails tucked in against its side, watching and listening to Harry tell the story. Puck moved over to a few feet in front of the wolf, and it raised it's head and looked him in the eye.

"So you can understand me, huh?"

The wolf looked at him for a few moments before nodding.

"Can you talk?" A shake of his massive head. "Are you like an animagus thing like Harry?"

"You know, I never thought to ask that," Harry said, his eyes now open looking at the wolf for an answer, which was a no.

"So you're not a human." Shake. "Are you a really weird wolf?" A growl and emphatic shake.

"So what are you then," Finn asked.

The wolf opened his massive jaws revealing sharp white teeth, then snapped it shut.

"He can't talk, Frankenteen!" Puck rolled his eyes and turned back to his one sided conversation. " So you're coming with us. Do you have a name?" The not-wolf gave what Puck assumed was a canine version of a shrug and shook his head.

"I call dibs on naming him!" Puck excitedly called out, raising his hand to emphasize the point. The not-wolf actually rolled his eyes at Puck and stood up and walked over only to collapse near Harry, its massive head laying right up against Harry's side. Even though his eyes were closed again, Harry immediately reached over and started running his hand through the not-wolf's fur. "What? I'm good at naming things! Just ask Barbie."

"His name is not Barbie, Puck!" Finn snapped.

Puck ignored him. "I think we should name him Hulk. It fits, right? Huge, green, scary, could probably crush you with a single hand er... paw. And did you see his eyes? They're purple! Doesn't the Hulk have purple eyes?"

"No, his eyes are green too. I think his shorts are purple, though," Mike answered.

"See! There you go. It fits," Puck decided.

"Shouldn't he have a say, since it is his name," Mike asked.

Puck rolled his eyes. "Of course he likes it. What do you say, Hulk?" The not-wolf raised his head slightly and met Puck's eyes for a moment before laying back down again with a huge huff. "See! He totally digs it!"

They stayed at their small camp for another hour or so. Harry rested against Hulk the entire time, and no one disturbed either of them. By the time they set out again the sun had reached the center of the sky and Harry was back to full health. Hulk bounded along beside them most of the time, but sometimes disappeared for long stretches of time. For such a large animal, it made absolutely no noise as it moved with them through the rocky hills.

They kept closer together this time, not wanting to take the chance of anything else happening and splitting them up. They had been walking for a few hours when a large lake came into view as they climbed over another hill. Even Puck thought the sight was stunning. It was completely surrounded by hills and it was so large he couldn't see the far shore. The side they were on had a slow moving river that trailed into the lake.

"Wow! It's beautiful! Can we rest there?" Finn asked excitedly, so the ventured down the hill they had been looking from, making for the shore.

Puck had been preparing himself since coming across the creatures for what they might encounter next. He had not been prepared to come across a naked woman sunbathing. The four boys came to an immediate stop upon seeing a woman stretched out on a brown blanket, soft milky white skin was bared for all to see. Her eyes were closed and her long brown hair was fanned out around her head like a halo.

After a speechless moment Hulk barked loudly behind him, alerting the woman to their presence. Puck sent him a glare, but quickly looked back at the woman. Her panicked eyes snapped open when she sat up and faced them. All of them gasped at the sight. Her eyes were completely chocolate brown, no white or pupil. They stood out noticeably against the white of her skin. The boys were still staring open mouthed when she stood quickly wrapping her blanket around herself and running for the water. As Puck watched the blanket seemed to glow and fold around her. Moments later the woman was gone and a seal was disappearing into the gentle waves of the lake and then nothing.

"So...uh. That just happened," Puck said.

Harry snorted beside him, and sat down on the shore. The rest took the hint and also sat down, every one of them facing the water, while Hulk went to the edge to drink from the lake.

"Any clue about that one, Harry," Finn asked.

"Actually yes. I finally know one." Harry laughed. "If I am not mistaken, that was a selkie. My friend Hermione told me about them. There aren't anymore in the wild. Well, they aren't supposed to be. Selkies are a type of faery. They are a seal like creature that can come ashore and shed their skin and become a human, then they can put it back on and return to the water again."

"So where did they all go?" Mike asked.

"Now that is why my Hermione got involved. Turns out, they can't return to the water without their skin, so if a human steals it the selkie will stay with them until they can get it back. They are gentle creatures, completely non violent. Evidently men, muggles and wizards alike, would hunt them down, steal their skins and force them to live as perfect wives."

"Damn, I knew I should have took her 'towel'," Puck joked, but his laughter was immediately cut off by a fierce glare from Harry and a menacing growl from Hulk where he had settled down behind the green eyed wizard. Puck raised his hands in surrender, "Was just joking," he mumbled.

"Really not funny. They were basically enslaved and turned into baby machines. They were meant to be free, and in the water. Not trapped in some perverted man's house washing dishes. Eventually they were all gone. There are a lot of people with selkie blood in them, beautiful men and women who usually have an affinity for the water, but can't really connect to it in the way they should have been able to," Harry finished passionately, Hulk nodding along with him.

"So she was a fairy then? I thought fairies were like Tinkerbell. Tiny, cute, humans with wings," Finn said.

Hulk scoffed, and they all turned to him. "You know about fairies, then?" Harry asked. Hulk rolled his eyes, and thumped his tail on the ground.

"Is that a yes? Like one for yes two for no?" Finn asked.

Hulk shook his head. He then raised a massive paw and ran it over his head like he was cleaning himself, then looked at them all meaningfully.

Puck looked at him confused. It was Harry, of course, who got it. He gasped said, "You mean you are a faery?"

Hulk nodded happily. "Holy shit. That just blew my mind," Puck told him. "Definitely not a cute blonde thingy." Hulk just stared at him before flopping onto his side and closing his eyes, apparently done answering questions.

"What else do you know about faeries?" Finn asked Harry.

"Not much. I only know about selkies so much because of their history and my friend tries to help creatures that have been taken advantage of. I mean I know they are not all like Tinkerbell, but we didn't really cover them in Care of Magical Creatures."

"If I had went to magic school I would have learned everything I could," Finn grumbled.

"What are you trying to say, Finn?" Harry wanted to know.

"I'm just saying you are supposed to be the wizard, but you don't even know about fairies. Now we are out here not knowing anything because you didn't pay attention in school."

"Whoa, Finn. It's not Harry's fault," Mike said.

"Damn, right. What the hell is your problem, man?" Puck demanded.

"My only problem is that we are in danger and he can supposedly fight of a giant snake but not a tree? Then he brought a giant monster back to us and didn't even know what it was!"

"Oh, please, Finn. Tell me everything you know about Australian animals. After all, they are muggle animals so you must know all about them, right? They are in your world after all. Tell me what does a wombat look like?" Harry snapped.

Finn just glared silently, clearly not having a comeback for that one. "Exactly. You can't expect me to know everything. I spent the last two years training for war, not for working in a bloody zoo. I don't where all this is coming from, but you need to stop."

"Oh? What are you going to do? Cast a spell on me? Figures."

"No, I won't. But I have no problem punching you. If it wasn't for me you would probably be dead, and you surely wouldn't know your own brother was safe. So you need to just cool the hell off."

"He's right, Finn. He just saved your life," Puck told him.

"Shut up, Puck. You've wanted to get in his pants ever since the plane. Now your just like him, a magic using freak!" Finn shouted.

Harry recoiled so fast it looked like he had been struck. Hulk stood up, towering over Harry who barely came to his chest, and started growling at Finn. Harry didn't say anything more, just stood up and walked away. With another snarl directed at Finn, Hulk turned to follow, keeping pace with the wizard.

"What the actual fuck, Finn!" Puck yelled, standing up.

"It's not fair!" Finn shouted back and stood up too, using his height to stand over Puck. "He gets to use magic, and doesn't even learn about fairies. Fairies, Puck! And then you get magic. You! How is that fair? Why not me?" Finn yelled, slapping a hand to his chest. "I get to be chased by tree monsters, but I don't get magic! I get to watch you, that's it!"

"So you attack Harry, the guy that just saved your life, because you're a jealous little shit." Puck said. "You want to talk about what's fair? How is that fair to him?" Puck walked away before he did something really satisfying, like breaking the bastards nose.

Puck jogged down the beach looking for Harry until he found the boy sitting in the sand looking out at the water, his back resting against Hulk who had curled around him. Both looked up at him as sat down beside Harry, but Hulk put his head back down, content to just ignore him.

"I'm sorry about Finn. He's jealous that we have something that he doesn't."

Harry scoffed. "Sadly, I'm used to it." Harry laughed without humor. "It looks like even on a desert island I can't get away from peoples expectations."

Puck leaned in so their sides were touching and gently nudged him. "I can go punch him if you want," Puck offered. "Really. I don't mind."

Harry chuckled. "No. It's fine. Can't having you punch your best friend."

"We haven't really been as close since I got his girlfriend pregnant anyway," Puck shrugged.

"Oh! That was Finn? You never said."

Puck shrugged again. "Besides he might be my friend, but your my..." Puck trailed off.

Harry looked him in the eyes. "Your what?" he asked quietly.

Puck was looked at him for a moment in silence. "I don't know. But you're my something."

With that he leaned in and gently pressed his lips to Harry's. It was chaste, and he pulled back searching Harry's face for permission. Finding it, he leaned back in, closing his eyes and savoring the kiss. Harry was still for a moment before his lips began to move against Puck's. After a moment, he felt Harry's hand come up to caress the back of his head and run his fingers through his mohawk. Puck's hands found their way to Harry's waist. The position was a bit awkward as they were still sitting side by side up against Hulk, but Puck didn't mind. He ran his tongue lightly along Harry's bottom lip, seeking entrance.

A sudden noise behind them had them breaking apart instantly and turning to see Mike run up the beach.

"Harry! Puck! It's Finn!" Mike yelled.

"Whatever it is can wait. We're busy," Puck told him.

"No! It can't! We were exploring the beach." Mike panted, out of breath from running. "Went to the river. There was a horse stuck." Puck felt Hulk tense behind him. "Finn wanted to help, but I thought we should wait. He went to it anyway. But it wasn't a horse, man." Mike told them, shaking his head and his eyes wild. "It was not a horse."

Hulk was already on his feet racing down the shore by the time Mike finished. Three boys ran after him, hoping they made it in time.


	11. Chapter 11

Harry ran along the beach following the direction Hulk had run. As he got closer he could hear Finn screaming for help. The non-wolf made it to the river first, his long legs carrying him quickly over the ground. Harry arrived shortly after, followed quickly by Puck. Harry had only moments to take in the scene before jumping in to help.

In the center of a large still pool of the slowly moving river was the top half of a large white horse with plants stuck in it's long white mane and dripping with water. The most noticeable thing about the creature, and like Mike had told them it was not a horse, was behind the not-horse splashing in the water where the rear of the horse should have been was a long serpent like tail ending in a wide fin.

It looked like Finn had waded in to help the presumably helpless creature and gotten caught because the creature had the fabric of Finn's shorts caught in its mouth and was dragging him backwards into deeper water. Finn had gotten a hold of the root on a water logged tree, but even from his position Harry could see the teen's grip failing.

Hulk let loose a mighty bark, startling Finn into completely letting go of the root. Before the creature could back away further Hulk leaped at Finn catching the boy's shirt in his teeth. It looked like the two huge beasts were playing tug of war with Finn taking the place of the rope. Harry, wand already in hand, joined the fray. He shot a stinging hex at the not-horses neck, the light hit the target and the creature screamed dropping the fabric. Hulk yanked and dragged a terrified Finn onto the shore near his friends and then went back to Harry's side as he faced the still flailing creature.

Harry wouldn't attack unless the not-horse came for them again. He had learned his lesson with the tree creature, he would fire non fatal curses and hexes as long as he was able. The creature charged the shore again and Harry caught sight of its front hooves which were actually fins. Harry spelled the water in front of the not-horse frozen, hoping the soft fins couldn't break through like a hoof would. Sure enough the creature stopped at the edge of the ice, but continued its scream like whinny at the shore.

Beside him Hulk began to growl at the creature, who immediately stopped its cries. Just like with the tree monster the not-wolf and not-horse faced off for long moments until the the water creature stopped treading water and sank beneath the surface. Underneath the water, Harry could see the not-horse racing away at great speed. Hulk stopped his growling and the next few minutes passed in silence until Harry was sure it wasn't coming back.

Harry turned to see a soaking wet, shivering Finn sitting in between Puck and Mike. All three were staring at him with various looks. Mike and Puck looked curious and Finn just looked angry, again.

"What?" Harry sighed.

"Why didn't you kill it! It tried to drown me!" Finn roared.

"I can't just kill everything Finn! I got you away, we were safe. It didn't have to die," Harry tried to explain. "Did it ever occur to you that I don't _want_ to kill anything?"

"It could come back when we are sleeping and kill us!"

"Unless you plan on sleeping in the water I don't think that will be a problem. It didn't have feet."

"You don't know that! And your wolf tried to bite me!"

"He saved you! And he's not a wolf!" Harry yelled back getting angry himself.

"I could see it in his eyes, he was going for my throat and missed," Finn insisted.

Hulk, who had come up behind him, growled. "I think that means if he had gone for your throat he wouldn't have missed," Harry helpfully interpreted.

"Look," Mike broke in before it could get out of hand again, "everyone just calm down."

"No! I'm tired of this. I'm tired of almost dying. I'm tired of this island. I don't even want magic anymore, I just want to go home!" Finn yelled. He pulled his legs up to his chest and buried his face in his knees. "I just want to go home," he repeated, his words mumbled against his legs.

Harry sighed. Sometimes he forgot not everyone had been through what he and his friends had. Finn just wasn't used to dealing with high risk situations like this. The first day had just been sun and fun, but now it wasn't so much unicorns and rainbows. Harry could understand where Finn was coming from, even if he hated the way he was acting. He sent a drying and warming charm at the boy, hoping to make him more comfortable and moved away to let Mike and Puck comfort their friend. He set a temporary ward around the group that would inform him if there was any trouble before walking away.

It had happened before, just like with his Aunt. In Finn's mind Harry had become a link to magic, something that had become scary to the teen. He was angry at Harry not because he couldn't protect him, because Harry had more than one, but because he was the closest and easiest thing related to what scared him. People, especially teenage boys in Harry's experience, didn't cope well with unknown things that scared them. Finn seemed like a good bloke, so Harry knew he would get over it. He just needed some space, which Harry could relate to and took the opportunity to get some of his own.

He wandered into the nearby hills, Hulk trotting along side him. When he got far enough away, Harry looked back to make sure none of the others were following or could see him before shifting into his animagus form. In this form he was only a few inches shorter than Hulk, but still significantly less mass than the huge beast. The not-wolf didn't look too surprised at the transformation, so Harry bowed his legs before nudging the beast playfully. Hulk got the hint and dropped into a crouch. Harry stilled for a moment and then sped off as fast as his long legs could carry him. Harry's more agile frame a was more than a match for Hulk's powerful muscles, both of their bodies suited to the environment.

When he first saw the hills they day before he knew they would be fun to run in and was glad he got the chance, and for the company as well. Being in his animagus form was always so freeing. When his friends had learned their forms with him, he had been disappointed that none could keep up with him so this was the first time he was able to put his speed to the max for anything fun. It had saved his life more than once, and ultimately helped him defeat Voldemort that summer, but it was good to know it was for more than just war.

The reason he had told Puck he would never guess, is that Harry himself knew very little about his animagus form. Strange things happened when he was changed, but he didn't know how to control it himself. Because of this he actually had no clue what he was capable of. Hermione found a picture that matched his form in an old book and had to have the few sentences underneath translated for her as they were written in Japanese which ended up being just a name and brief description. Harry already had plans to visit the country after school in search of more information.

They played in the grassy hills for over an hour, before Harry noticed the day was getting late. They wouldn't be getting any further that day, and they needed to make camp before nightfall. Harry steered them back towards where they had left the boys, transforming back before they got to close. He made deliberate noise as he approached so he wouldn't startle the quietly talking teens.

"Hey, it's getting late. We should probably set up camp," Harry suggested.

The others nodded and Finn added, "Just not near the water, please?"

"No, good idea. There's a tall hill a few minutes that way," Harry said pointing to the direction he had just come from. "If we set up on top we should be able to see if anything comes close."

The atmosphere that night was tense compared to the night before. Harry sent Prongs to Neville warning him of unknown creatures on the island. He kicked himself for not having thought to do it earlier, potentially endangering their friends. When he got the message back though Neville told him all was fine and they hadn't run into any trouble. Harry was concerned about that, but figured he had always been a trouble magnet. Finn seemed to brighten up after exchanging words with his brother and Harry was just glad the boy had stopped yelling.

They quietly sat around the fire eating without talking after the messages stopped. Hulk had disappeared to find his own sleeping spot, so Harry was alone with the others. After finishing eating, Harry quickly excused himself and went to get ready for bed, not wanting to deal with the awkwardness anymore. Harry had just laid down when a few moments later Puck entered the tent.

"Don't worry, Harry. You can cuddle me tonight," Puck said with a grin.

Harry scoffed. " I am perfectly content to stay on my side of the tent. I think you want the cuddles more than me anyway," Harry told him, rolling over to hide his smile. He heard movement as Puck settled down on his side.

"You might be right about that," Puck replied softly. Harry smiled at the tone of voice. It was silent in the tent for a few minutes, but unlike the campfire earlier it wasn't awkward at all with just him and Puck.

"Will you tell me?" Puck asked quietly.

Harry rolled over to face him. Puck was on his side looking at Harry. "Tell you what?"

"About what happened. There's something that you keep talking around, something big. You don't have to tell me if you don't want."

Harry sighed. "It's a long story."

"Like you said, we've got time."

"Before I was born there was a dark wizard named Voldemort. Think Hitler, only with magic," Puck grimaced, "Yeah. It got pretty bad. Some people fought against him and his followers, my parents included. When I was 15 months old he came to our house to kill me. There is a curse, creatively enough called the Killing Curse, that kills every time without fail. It leaves no marks, you just drop dead. He killed my father first as he tried to fight him off, then my mother as she tried to protect me in my crib. Then he cast the same curse, the infallible curse, at me. Only this time it failed, and rebounded against him."

Harry was laying on his back now staring up at the ceiling of the tent, speaking quietly in the small space. He could feel Puck's gaze on his face, encouraging but not pressuring. "He died that night. A Dark Lord that had killed thousands, felled by a baby. I was lauded as a hero; Harry Potter, the-boy-who-lived. They celebrated in the streets, wrote books in my honor. Meanwhile I was left on the doorstep of my mother's sister, a magic hating muggle. For the next 10 years I lived under their stairs thinking my parents had died in a car accident because my father had been driving drunk. Any act of freakish-ness, meaning my uncontrollable accidental magic, was punished."

"Then on my 11th birthday I received a letter. ' _Dear Mr. Potter, We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,'"_ Harry recited in a terrible impression of McGonagall's voice. "It was a dream come true. Magic was real and I was a wizard. But as soon as I stepped into the wizarding world, people expected things of me that I had no clue how to deliver. At first they wanted to know how I had defeated him, they wanted me to do great things."

"As it turned out, Voldemort wasn't as dead as everyone thought. He came back my first and second year, but I managed to keep him from getting a body. Finally in my fourth year he kidnapped me and regained his body using my blood after killing a friend in front of me. I escaped to tell people, to warn them. No one wanted to listen. They would rather think he was gone, that Cedric had died in some terrible accident. The Ministry and the papers printed that I was seeking attention, I had gone around the twist."

"I spent my whole fifth year year with the rumors following me around. People looking at me as if I would kill at a moments notice. At the end of the year I was part of a battle at the Ministry of Magic over a prophecy. People finally found out that he was back when the Minister himself walked in on the battle to see Voldemort standing in front of him. The same people who only months ago were calling me insane were back to applauding me, calling me the 'Chosen One'. Any satisfaction I could have at that was buried under the grief of losing my godfather in the battle."

"After the battle I was called into the headmaster's office. It turns out the prophecy said that I had to be the one to kill him and no one else would be able to. I spent the next two years training to be a murderer. I was only 15 but I had to kill the most evil Dark Lord of the century. I finally succeeded this past summer, I killed him. Now I'm Harry Potter, the-boy-who-lived, the Chosen One and the Savior. I thought I was done, but it seems like I was the only one who thought that. The public expects me to join the Ministry, whom I loathe. I know when I leave it will be just like fifth year with the rumors and speculations. I don't want to live my life under a magnifying glass, I just want to be free. And I would really like those cuddles now," Harry finished.

Puck silently opened his arms, and Harry slid across the space dividing them. He fit naturally against the other teen, accepting the comfort of the arms encircling him. Puck was silent in the wake of his story and Harry was a little nervous as to what the larger teen would say.

"No wonder you never had time to get laid," Puck commented.

Harry rose up on his elbow to look the teen in the face. "That is what you get out of all that? Really?"

"No, I just wanted you to look at me," Puck replied before leaning up to press a gentle kiss to Harry's lips. They settled back down after a minute, Harry's head on Puck's chest. One of Puck's hand tucked under his head, the other carding through Harry's hair in way that Harry never knew he liked. Harry sighed happily and leaned in to the touch.

"My dad walked out on us a few days after my 11th birthday. My life has never been easy, but I couldn't imagine going through the things you have, Harry. You kind of amazing, you know that?"

"Don't make me blush," Harry replied, already turning red and grateful Puck couldn't see his face. Then what Puck said hit him. He popped up again, his own embarrassment fading. "You said your 11th birthday?"

"Yeah. Why?" Puck asked, the confusion written on his face.

"11 is when you get your school letter. That's the last chance for kids who haven't shown any accidental magic. If you don't get your letter, that's when you know your a squib. You said before that your dad talked about magic. Could he have known?" Harry asked.

"I- I don't know."

Harry laid back down. "When we get off this island, I'll help you find out. As much as I hate the ministry I've still got pull there. We'll figure it out," Harry told him with certainty.

After a few silent moments, Puck started to sing softly as he continued to run his hands through Harry's hair. The day had been long and draining in every way. Harry couldn't recall a time he had ever been more comfortable, and he slowly fell asleep, gently lulled away by the boy beneath him.


	12. Chapter 12

Puck woke up the same way he had fallen asleep: confused.

Had his dad really left because Puck didn't have any magic? When he was a kid he had always worried that it was his fault his dad skipped out but as he grew older he found out every kid thought that. Now though it was actually a possibility of that being true and that pissed Puck off. What kind of father leaves his kid because they don't have magic!

Then Harry offered his help, even though he had clearly said that he hated the Ministry of Magic. After hearing how insane Harry's life had been, Puck completely agreed with the other teen's plan to just get out. He was doing the same just on a much smaller scale. Living with the expectations that he was just going to be another Lima Loser, he had decided to escape Ohio and move to Cali. No one would know his past there.

Puck absentmindedly traced one of the tattoos on Harry's back while he still slept. Harry didn't seem like the kind of guy to have them at such a young age, but he kind of understood now. He was really interested in what they represented, but figured he would have to wait on that. He was lucky enough to hear the story of Harry's past so he wasn't going to push too much too soon.

Harry began to stir against him and Puck smiled at the cute groans the boy made as he woke up and stretched like a cat. It wasn't light out yet, but they all knew they had to make up time for yesterday if they wanted to make it to the mountain today.

"Morning, beautiful," Puck said enjoying Harry's blush as the boy moved out of his arms and sat up.

"Good morning. Are the others up yet?"

"I haven't heard anything, but I've only been up for a few minutes," Puck told him, getting up himself.

The made their way out of the tent, and sure enough the others were still asleep. Hulk wasn't back yet either so it was just the two of them standing on the large hill with just the sliver of light beginning to touch the sky.

"Before we get them up what do you say to magic class? We were to tired to do any last night.," Harry offered.

"I say hell yeah. And you were too tired, I was just nice enough to go easy on you," Puck told him. Puck could have been on his death bed and he would still be willing to learn.

"So I was thinking we could practice some spells that will help you out here more. I didn't want to start anything too dangerous while we were still out here, but it might help. If you can promise me that you won't mess around I'll let you have the wand. I know you have the knife to protect you, but I think you can handle it. What do you say?"

"I say hell yeah! I mean- Of course, Harry," Puck corrected himself, trying to tone down his enthusiasm.

Harry laughed and handed him his wand, then transfigured the tent into an archery target. "Now, we are going to practice stunner. There is no particular wand movement you just have to aim at your target," Harry told him, motioning to the archery target. "Well be using this first just to work out your aim, but obviously it is for living things. The stunner doesn't hurt the target, just knocks them out. The duration depends on the strength of the caster and the strength of the target. Some witches, wizards or creatures need to be hit by several different people at the same time for it to take any effect. There is also a spell to wake up someone who has been stunned, and I'll show you that when we move on. Now, the incantation is _stupefy_. Give a try," Harry instructed.

Puck spent the next ten minutes practicing with the target before Harry told him he was good enough to move to an animal. Harry transfigured the target into a stuffed bear before casting a spell on it that made it move like a real bear.

Harry shrugged. "We used to practice on other people when I taught. I figured you could practice on this before you hex me since you need to know the spell to wake them up and I don't think you could stun me. No offense."

"None taken, man. If I could take you down then you wouldn't be the Savior now would you?" Puck grinned cheekily.

Harry groaned. "Don't ever call me that, Puck, or I will find something equally bad to name you."

Puck held his hands up in surrender. They continued to work with the bear and Harry showed him the _reenervate_ spell. "This will wake up someone who has been stunned, or even someone who faints," Harry told him. Harry sped up the animation on the bear so it would move faster and even attack with it's stuffed paws. Overall the effect was adorable, but Puck knew he was learning something that could save his life.

Puck continued to work stunning and waking up the bear while Harry got out the food and woke the others. By the time it was ready dawn had officially broke it was getting steadily lighter. Puck carefully tucked his wand into his pocket, before going to sit and eat. Hulk trotted up the the camp a few minutes after they started eating and flopped down behind Harry while he ate.

Camp was packed up quick, but instead of turning the bear back into the rock it had been, Harry turned it into a sheath for Puck's wand.

"I don't know the spells to enchant it like mine is, but it will work for now," Harry told him.

It was quiet as they set off. Puck was glad that Finn wasn't attacking Harry anymore. The two seemed content to just calmly avoid each other for the moment, which worked for him. He didn't want to be caught between the two since he was pretty sure whose side he would take, and it would just cause more problems.

As they walked Puck tried to get Harry to give him hints about his animagus form, but Harry refused to tell him information.

"Come on! All I know is that you are not a panther, wolf, flamingo, hawk, llama or snake and that you have fur. You have to give something else! Do you know how many animals there are in the world?"

"You said you wanted to guess. It's not guessing if I give you the answer, Puck."

"Can I ask you yes or no questions, then? Like 10?" Puck compromised.

"Three," Harry countered.

"Eight."

"Five."

"Five works," Puck agreed. "Ok, first question: Do you have stripes?"

Harry shook his head. "No, no stripes."

"Hmm...alright. Second question: Are you bigger in you animagus form than your human form?"

"Yes, definitely."

"Third: Do you have paws," Puck asked.

"Nope," Harry told him with a smile.

"Are you a stag like your dad?"

"Is that a question or a guess?"

"Guess."

Harry thought about it for a moment. "No, I'm not a stag like my dad."

Puck got suspicious at the tone. "Are you a magical animal."

Harry grinned brightly. "Yes!"

"How am I supposed to guess that?" Puck groaned.

"You're the one who wanted to turn it into a guessing game. I told you that you wouldn't guess it," Harry said with a shrug.

"Well, I have one more question left and it's a good one."

"Oh? Let's hear it then."

"I'll let you know when I figure it out," Puck mumbled causing Harry to laugh.

They had been walking for over two hours when Puck caught a glimpse of the horizon. Directly in their path to the mountain was a thick forest, spread for miles in either direction.

"What do we do," Mike asked the group.

"We go around," Finn said decisively. "We all seen what was in the hills, who knows what could be in a forest?"

"We don't know what to the side of us either. Who knows what we could run into on our way around? I think we should go through," Harry said.

"You do what you want, but I am not going through there. Nothing says we have to stay together, I'm sure we could find the mountain without you."

Harry went still beside him. "We?"

"Yeah. Me, Puck and Mike will find a way around and you can go right on through. No hard feelings," Finn said with a smile and turned to walk parallel with the forest in the distance.

"Hey, Frankenteen. I'm going where he goes, so don't speak for me," Puck snarled at the taller boy.

"We'll just all go around," Harry said, stepping between the two glaring friends. "I just thought it would be safer, but we can do it your way, Finn. We're gonna need to pick up the pace though."

Puck was still caught in a staring contest with Finn. He was pissed that Finn would think he would just leave Harry to go by himself. He was even more pissed that Finn thought he could make his decisions for him. A sudden cough had both of them snapping their glares to Mike who looked unconcerned, but pointed to where Harry and Hulk were already walking far ahead.

With a final glare at Finn, Puck jogged to catch up with the fast walking pair. He fell in beside them and the next few minutes were silent.

"Thanks," Harry told him.

"For what."

"Saying you would go with me instead. Thanks." Puck nodded, not sure what to say to that.

They walked until about noon and the forest still had no end in sight, but now they were no closer to the meeting place than the had been hours ago.

"Uh..guys? What's that?" Mike pointed forward to the limit of their sight. It looked like the grass ended and from this far all they could see was brown.

"It must be a field. I told you guys this would work!" Finn shouted.

They continued to walk closer but as they neared it became glaringly obvious that it was not in fact a field. Somehow, right up against rolling grassy hills was a huge desert. They stood a few yards from the line that separated the two completely different landscapes. There was actually an abrupt line with grass on one side and hard, dry dirt on the other. The desert was completely flat as far as Puck could see and dotted with small wiry bushes.

"Ok, I know I don't much attention in school, but I'm pretty sure this is impossible," Puck stated even though the proof was right in front of him.

"Well, it is a magic island," Mike said. "Do we go back or..."

"No this is perfect. The forest stops completely and if some monster to eat us we can see it coming. Plus it's completely flat so we won't have to climb hills anymore which should shorten our walking time," Finn explained looking completely excited.

Harry looked unsure but didn't argue with Finn. Puck was sure that Harry was trying to avoid any more arguments. If they found that many odd creatures in some hills, he couldn't imagine what they would come across in a desert.

Before heading in for the next leg of the trip they decided to have lunch still in the grassy area.

"Hey I gotta take a piss," Puck told Mike as they set up camp.

"Thanks for the update, Puck. I really needed to know."

"Shut up, dude. I'm just letting you know I'm going into the woods for a minute," Puck replied.

He wondered into the forest near the desert line until he couldn't hear the others anymore. When he was done and zipping up Puck heard a rustle of leaves behind him and turned around quickly but didn't see anything. He shrugged figuring it was the wind, and took another step before hearing a low growl to his right but still couldn't see anything.

Puck removed his wand from the sheath on his forearm and walked towards the noise. By the base of a large tree was a small tan animal, still growling but not even looking at him. It was pouncing towards something on the ground. Curiosity satisfied, Puck stepped back to leave but snapped something underfoot and the animal jerked around to see him standing there. It was some sort of cat that he didn't recognize, possibly because it was snarling and running towards him. Puck quickly sent a stunner at the animal but missed, and tried again then hit.

The animal tumbled to the ground, still breathing. Puck felt like a badass for using magic for the first time like this. He was grinning and ready to turn around to go tell Harry when something at the base of the tree moved. Puck cautiously crept forwards to see what the cat had been trying to eat. In the leaves was a snake about a foot long, still alive but covered in blood, dirt and leaves so Puck couldn't really get a good look at its markings.

It looked so sad writhing around that Puck wanted to save it. He sighed at himself before bending down to pick up the snake. He didn't know if it was poisonous so he stripped off his shirt and scooped the hurt snake onto it carefully before wrapping it up and cuddling the shirt to his chest for warmth. Puck noticed the snake head was poking out of the shirt so he started talking to it.

"It's ok little guy. My friend is gonna help you out. Don't worry I got you." Puck continued to mummer in what he hoped was a soothing manner to the snake as he made his way out of the trees. "Ugh. If only the guys on the team saw me now," he muttered. The snake hissed lowly and Puck remembered that Harry would be able to translate.

As he broke the tree line he called out, "Harry. Can you give me a hand?"

Harry dropped the orange he had been eating and ran for Puck. "What is it? Are you hurt?"

Puck quickly described what had happened in the woods while he lowered himself and the shirt wrapped snake to the grass. Harry followed the movement and knelt beside him as Puck carefully unwrapped the snake who was still covered in blood and leaves. Harry started hissing at the snake and running his wand, which made the same light it had when Harry had diagnosed himself with the broken leg the day before. Harry looked at Puck and began speaking to him.

"English, Harry."

Harry chuckled. "Sorry. Better?" Puck nodded. "She's got a few broken ribs and some internal damage."

"Can you fix her? Will she be ok?"he asked worriedly.

"Yes, but she'll be tired for a while so we have to keep her with us or she might get caught again," Harry told him before casting the spells at the snake. Harry continued to talk to the snake. "She's kind of hard to understand because she's just a baby."

"Wow, big baby." Puck ran his finger lightly over the healed skin, completely missing the adoring look Harry sent his way. "Can you clean her?" Harry nodded and the blood vanished, and they began to pick off the leaves. Harry's gasp made Puck look at the other teen only to see him staring down at the snake. Puck understood moments later because underneath the blood and leaves was a set of small rainbow colored wings. They quickly got rid of the rest of the leaves. The snakes scales were a dark midnight blue while her underbelly was a soft sky blue and around her head like a crown were more small multicolored feathers. At the end of her tail was a small fan of rainbow colored feathers that jutted out from either side to come together at the bottom.

"I can't believe it. She's a Couatl. They are supposed to be extinct."

Puck looked up at Harry's awed whisper. "You know what she is?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, when I found out I could speak parseltongue I started learning about snakes, it kind of became a hobby of mine. Something to take my mind off the war. She is a couatl. Her wings are small now since she is a baby but eventually they will grow to over a fifteen foot wing span while her body itself can grow up to about twelve feet long. It's supposed to be mesmerizing seeing them fly."

"They can fly?" Puck exclaimed.

"Well what else did you think the wings were for," Harry laughed. "Whats weird is that she was in the forest. Couatl are jungle snakes and were worshiped by the Aztec for being bringers of light and happiness. When the Spanish came they were all but wiped out because they fought against the invaders. There isn't really much known about them anymore. Some people think there were so few left that they bred into other snake species, but lost their wings and magic."

"Why don't you just ask her how she got here?"

Harry nodded and started hissing at the baby snake again while Puck continued to stroke its scales. Harry's eyes kept flicking up at Puck and he wondered what the snake was saying because it looked like Harry was trying to convince her of something while she shook her head no. After a few more minutes talking Harry spoke in English again.

"She said just after she hatched her nest was attacked, but she fell out before she could be eaten. She went looking for her parents and ended up in the forest. That was how she got attacked. Even as babies they are really fast but because of the cold she was slowed down. She wont be back up to speed for a little while because of blood loss, though. Also, she uh.." Harry trailed off mumbling.

"She what?"

"She thinks you're her daddy," Harry said while blushing.

"She what!" Puck yelped.

"She said you saved and protected her, then were telling her you were there for her. She said that's what daddies do, so you must be hers. She wouldn't listen when I tried to tell her you weren't. She doesn't really understand because she's so young."

"She can understand me when I talk?"

"Couatl are magical snakes. They can understand you even if you can't understand them."

Puck gently scooped the snake and raised it to his face, looking at her in the eye. "You think I'm your daddy?" The snake tiredly nodded her head, and Puck was reminded she had almost died an hour ago. He turned to Harry. "Can you make her a warm pouch to sleep in. I don't want her wings to get hurt in my pocket."

Harry smiled knowingly and ran back to camp before coming back with a small pouch with a long loop attached. "I spelled it to be at a constant temperature so she wont over heat when we head into the desert. There an extension charm so she won't be cramped and another charm so she wont be bounced around when you move," Harry told him while handing him the pouch which Puck was amused to note was colored the same as the snakes scales, midnight blue at the top fading into sky blue near the bottom.

Puck held the pouch open in front of the couatl. "You need to rest until you feel better. You'll be safe in here, alright?" The snake nodded and flicked her tongue at Puck's fingers before sliding into the pouch and curling up to sleep. Puck gently closed the pouch and slipped the sting over his head so it rested in the center of his chest.

Harry picked up Puck's shirt and cleaned it of the snake blood before handing it to Puck. Puck slipped the shirt on, but left the pouch underneath.

"I guess you were a Slytherin after all," Harry told him gesturing to the basilisk that happened to lay right over the sleeping snake. "Thanks for being so good about it. She's really sweet and scared. I can talk to her after she starts to feel better if you want," Harry offered.

Puck thought about it but eventually shook his head and shrugged. "Always wanted to be a dad. Didn't really envision this scenario to be honest," Puck told him.

They shared a laugh as they made their way back to camp where the other two boys watched them approach.

"What was up, Puck?" Mike asked.

"Found a hurt snake," he told them while digging in to lunch, making a note to feed the baby when she woke.

"Oh, did you kill it for him, Harry? That was nice of you," Finn said.

"No! I didn't kill her! Fuck, Finn!" Harry shouted. The boy grabbed his abandoned food and angrily walked away to join Hulk where he was spread out on his side resting a little ways away from the rest. Puck watched as Harry plopped himself down and leaned against Hulk's stomach as he offered the not-wolf some fish.

"What did I say?" Finn asked confused. "I was trying to smooth things over!"

Puck sighed and continued to eat so Mike explained. "Harry can talk to snakes, Finn."

"So?"

"That means they can talk back. I imagine it would be like killing a person to him."

"But it's not a person, it's just a snake."

Puck placed his hand protectively over the pouch on his chest, which Finn misinterpreted.

"Exactly! See Puck agrees. Harry killed that basilisk," Finn reasoned. Puck just ignored him, but didn't correct him about the baby snake. If Finn had a problem with Hulk he didn't know how the boy would react to the winged snake.

They were eager to get on the way and make up time so lunch was wrapped up soon after that and the boys made their way to the line that divided the two environments. As soon as they crossed it was like being thrown into an oven. He quickly stepped back over the line into the grass followed by the others. Puck panted, trying to catch his breath unexpectedly.

"I did not expect that," Harry panted.

"Is there anything you can do, Harry?" Mike asked.

The wizard nodded. "Yeah cooling charms for everybody. They wont keep all the heat out, but we wont bake at least. If you get thirsty, let me know. We need hats to cover our head from the sun too." Harry set about doing all those things before turning to Hulk.

"Are you sure you want to still come with us," Harry asked sounding somewhat reluctant to offer. "I mean you're not really built for the climate."

The not-wolf nodded and nosed Harry's wand. "Alright. This one is meant for a whole house so it should help with the fur. You tell me if you need water too, ok? I don't want you to get hurt."

"Hey, uh Harry. Can you help Max too?" Finn asked quietly holding out the small pink pygmy puff.

Harry gave the tall boy a small smile. "Sure, Finn."

When they stepped back across the line it felt less like an oven and more like a dry sauna. That was probably the worst part in Pucks opinion. It wasn't just the heat, but everything else along with it. In the hills it had been slightly moist with a slight breeze, but here it was completely dry. The dirt even had cracks in it. It took a moment for the group to adjust before they started walked with far less chatter than earlier. They had to stop often for water, so Harry took the time to teach Puck the _aguamenti_ charm, which was thankfully really easy which helped speed things up.

Eventually it became clear there was no way they were going to make it to the mountain that day. It had steadily gotten bigger, but it was still miles away. Harry sent Prongs with a message to the other group when they faced the truth. When the sea turtle turned up, which was weird watching it swim in the desert, the boy, Neville, told Harry that their group had gotten held up as well. No one was hurt, but he would tell them what happened in person.

They made camp as it started getting dark. The wards and tents were set up faster than ever, then the boys collapsed around the fire, exhausted from the hot day.

"Walk through the desert, you said. It will be easier, you said. Well guess what, Finn? This sucks!" Puck snapped at the boy.

"At least we went the whole day without being attacked by monsters," Finn pointed out.

"Cause we were the only ones stupid enough to be in the sun," Harry said with a laugh.

Finn was silent for a moment before he laughed too. "You're probably right." He flopped back into his chair. "Man, I'm baked. If it weren't for those spells I would be a goner. Thanks for that by the way."

"No worries," Harry replied lightly.

"And I'm uh, sorry. About yesterday, I mean. I didn't mean to snap at you like that. It's just..." Finn trailed off.

"A lot to deal with?"

"Yeah," Finn sighed. "I am sorry though."

"Aww. Why don't we all kiss and make up," Puck cut in sarcastically.

"No, thanks, Puck. I think I will leave that to you," Finn said slyly causing Harry to flush red.

"Too true," Puck said with a leer to Harry. "Well, I'm heading to bed," Puck told them before scooping up some fish and a bowl then heading into the tent.

Puck took a seat on his bag and placed his supplies beside him. He gently removed his shirt and the pouch from around his neck and carefully opened it. "Hey, little one. You awake?" He heard a small hiss from inside the pouch. "Come on out. You need to eat and drink up. It will help you feel better. I promise."

The snake rose up from the pouch and into Puck's hand. Puck sat for a moment petting her before raising a piece of the fish to her mouth. With astonishing speed, the snake struck out and grabbed the food from his hand and swallowed in one piece.

"I see your feeling better," he told her and continued to hand her fish.

When the food was gone Puck filled the bowl with water. "You need some water after all that food," he told her as he lowered her head to water and watched as her tongue flicked out to taste the water before drinking. When she was done he moved the half full bowl of water to the side and laid down, draping the snake in a line down his chest and gently stroked her midnight scales ghosting his fingers over the small two inch wings.

"I can be your daddy if you want," Puck told the snake. "I'll take care of you and protect you, make sure nothing hurts you. I'll be the best human daddy to a snake there ever was. You know, give you love and that good stuff." The little wings fluttered at his words and Puck smiled. It was kind of weird, but he meant it. It was a snake, but she was a baby too. The snake slid up his body and her head slipped down around his neck to com up the other side and rest on her tail feathers. She tightened once and then relaxed, seemingly dropping off into sleep. This really wasn't they way he imagined becoming a father again, but he really couldn't say he minded. Besides he would be a badass for real soon and every badass needs a badass snake. And if his snake thought he was her daddy, no one needed to know but him...and Harry.


	13. Chapter 13

Harry spent a few minutes talking with Mike and Finn after Puck went into the tent. Things with the taller boy were still tense and Harry didn't want to cause any more conflict unless he had to so he had accepted the boy's apology with little fanfare. It didn't really matter to him what Finn thought of him or magic as long as the boy stopped being an ass about it. In the interest of peace he was trying to be more outgoing with the others beside Puck, even though he wanted nothing more to follow the tanned boy into the tent.

By the time he made it into the tent Puck was already asleep and Harry barely held in a 'awww' at the sight of him with the couatl sleeping around his neck. Harry quickly got ready for bed. He looked between the two sleeping bags for a moment before deciding to go for it and laying down with Puck again. He cuddled up to the bigger boys side and lay his head on his chest near the sleeping snake. As he got comfy the baby stirred a bit and hissed at Harry.

::Daddy gave me yummy food. He says he will give me loves too:: she told him happily, but still tired.

Harry smiled sleepily at the couatl. ::I'm glad. I think he will take good care of you::

::Daddy is the best daddy:: she murmured before falling back into sleep.

Harry was glad Puck was okay with the snake. For the boy to be willing to take care of her knowing that she thought he was her father was amazing. He had met plenty of people who hated the creatures on sight, especially with the whole Slytherin and Voldemort connection.

He had long since come to realize that every snake species was different. Non-magical snakes seemed to be a bit dumb and with extremely limited vocabulary. They were nice to meet, but if a parselmouth wanted a companion it had to be a magical snake which were hard to find unless you were looking for potion ingredients. Shops wouldn't carry them because of Voldemort which was a shame because Harry had been thinking about finding one as a travel companion when he left after the school year.

To find a couatl was incredible, even in the magical world all the winged snakes had been wiped out, hunted for their parts that were useful in potions. Harry had been shocked to see the baby snakes wings. He had been even more shocked when she called Puck daddy. He had been worried about how he would take it and been unsure about telling the teen especially after hearing about his daughter, but it looked like he was accepting the role with no argument and was frankly adorable cuddled with the snake.

000

Harry woke with a start, not even having been aware of falling asleep. He looked around for a moment not knowing what had woken him. Puck and the couatl were still asleep and it was still completely dark. A tingle at the back of his mind alerted him to the reason. Something was poking at the edge of his wards. Harry quietly moved out of Pucks arms which had encircled him while he had slept. He drew his wand and peeked his head out of the opening of the tent and gasped at what he saw about 15 yards away at the exact edge of the wards he had laid.

It was built like a scorpion, low to the ground with many legs and a shiny black exoskeleton. In fact Harry would have thought it was a scorpion if it wasn't bigger than the Knight Bus, and it's stinger wasn't currently molten red and casting a glow around the area. Even worse, Harry could feel it trying to break into the wards so it had to be magic of some sort. The wards were not meant to keep out a magical attack, they were just temporary. He would have had to spend hours on the wards to keep something like that out permanently.

Harry ducked back into the tent and shook Puck awake.

"What the-"

Harry clamped his hand over Puck's mouth. "There's something outside. Get the the baby safe and get ready to move. The wards won't hold."

Eyes wide, Puck nodded quickly. He was whispering to the snake while putting her in her pouch as Harry slit a hole in the tent on the side between the two tents. Luckily this is where Hulk had decided to lay down and was hidden from the monster so Harry gently shook him awake since he couldn't very well clamp the not-wolf's mouth shut.

The not-wolf's eyes blinked open. "There is something poking at my wards. I don't think it knows were here yet, but it is going to break them. Be ready, but don't move until I've got the others ready, okay?"

Hulk tensed and nodded so Harry moved on to the other tent, cutting that one open as well and slipping inside. Mike was in front of him so he woke up first, then Finn. Harry help a finger to his lips to motion for quiet.

"Get ready and be quiet. There is something trying to break in. We need to be able to move quick." Finn went to say something, but Harry cut him off. "Not now, just be ready to move fast." They both nodded and Harry made his way back to Puck.

"Did you see it?" Harry asked as soon as he entered through the slit.

"Yeah. It's fucking huge. What is it?"

"I don't know but I don't think it's friendly. It's already half way through my wards." A sudden scream from outside the tent ripped though the silent desert. "Finn!" Harry snarled. Harry and Puck ripped out of the tent to seethe boy safe but screaming and pointing that the huge scorpion still outside the wards. Harry sent a silencing spell at the boy. "Are you bloody mental!" he hissed, but the damage was already done. A loud explosion followed the scream and the invisible dome created by the ward lit up as fire spread over it.

Harry looked to the monster to see it send out another fire ball out of its stinger. "Of course it shoots fire," Harry groaned to himself before addressing the others who had grouped around him, including Hulk who was even dwarfed by the monster. "Get to the opposite side of the ward line. Don't try to leave until I say," he instructed. They ran to the other side which put them about 30 yards from the monster with the camp set in the middle. The wards were collapsing fast as the continuous fire blasts weakened them.

"Get ready. When I say, run as fast and as far as you can. I'll hold it off until you far enough away." He turned to Puck. "You too. You can't handle this yet. Protect your friends." The boy looked defiant but nodded. Relieved he wouldn't argue, Harry gave the boy a quick fierce kiss. He cast individual shields on each of them then Harry faced towards the monster as the wards began to tremble. When he felt the first crack he yelled, "Run!"

Without looking back he could hear the three teens sprint in the opposite direction from the scorpion and Hulk stay at his side. Harry cast his first spell to explode the monster, but it bounced harmlessly off the shell and hit the ground instead. "Fuck, not again!" What was the point of training when everything on the island was shielded? Harry dodged a fire ball and ran closer hoping it's close range was worse. He kept throwing spells to distract the monster, exploding the ground around it even if he couldn't damage the creature itself. The continuous fire blasts were ruining his vision, making it harder to see in the dark.

Hulk dodged the car door sized claws and clamped on to one of the creature's legs, yanking with powerful jaws. The creature screeched as its leg came loose, but kicked at Hulk with one of the other seven sending him flying. The loss of the leg slowed the creature from turning as fast and Harry used this to duck around the monster's side and cast a flame dampening charm at the stinger. Fate must have been on his side because the white foam encased the stinger and the glow died down. No more fireballs were being shot out, but the sharp tip of the stinger was still visible. Mentally celebrating the small victory, Harry missed the now extinguished stinger coming at him until it was almost too late. He ducked but the stinger but got caught by the tip of a pincer which tore through his shoulder.

Harry scrambled to his feet and backed away quickly. Distance was safer now without the fireballs exploding around him. It was easier to see now without the constant explosions, but Harry couldn't see anything out of the ring of light created by burning vegetation . The shell was still shining in the light of the bright moon, so he was able to keep sending blasting curses it's way. Hulk ran in out of the darkness to attack again, this time he got caught by a claw and was thrown away where he lay on the desert floor unmoving. "Hulk!"

Harry was distracted long enough for the scorpion to attack. The breath was knocked out of the wizard as a claw hit his stomach sending him to the ground. He was on the ground, groping around for a wand when the scorpion loomed over him, stinger poised for attack.

" _Bombarda!_ "

The scream came from behind him, the explosion hit the ground beside the scorpion. Harry's hand found his wand before the dirt settled and he took aim at the monster's belly. " _Sectumsempra!_ " Slices opened up on the less armored underbelly and it screamed again and quickly backed away before scurrying off into the dark. Harry watched it disappear before collapsing back to the ground panting.

"Harry! Are you alright?" Puck yelled as he fell to dirt beside him, his eyes running over the blood on his shoulder.

Harry nodded to the panicked boy. "I only got clipped." He sat up, grunting with the effort. "Hulk got hit." There were bushes on still on fire from the scorpion so they only had to search the ground for the not-wolf before finding him moments later, still having not moved. Harry ran to him, relived to see his chest moving up and down steadily. He cast the diagnostic charms over the not-wolf and sagged in relieve when he saw nothing was broken, the animal had just been knocked out when he hit the ground. He cast _reenervate_ and the not-wolf quickly awoke, raising his head before whimpering and letting his head fall again.

"Is he alright?" Puck asked.

"He's got a concussion and some bruising but he will be fine with some rest. Can you help me with my shoulder?" With Puck's help he was able to remove the torn shirt and heal the wound. He rotated his shoulder after. "Damn, that hurt. Where did you leave the others? Why did you leave them? I told you to run."

"I know, but I came back when I heard you scream. I just used the same spell you were shouting and it worked," Puck told him with a smug look. "They are a few minutes that way," Puck told him while pointing the the direction they ran. "Mike will scream if they need help. Finn is still kind of upset cause he can't talk."

"Good. If it wasn't for him we might have gotten away without it ever having seen us. He's that dumb blonde in the movies that dies first," Harry told him seriously. It was quiet for a moment witch just the panting of the not-wolf breaking the silence. "Thanks for coming back," Harry told Puck as that sat beside each other in the dirt. Harry leaned his head on the teen's muscled shoulder. "You're kind of brave, you know that."

"Stop you'll make me blush," Puck told him, draping an arm across the wizard's shoulder. "Besides brave sounds so cliche. I'm clearly a badass."

"I stand corrected. Excuse me, Mr. Badass, but we need to get these fires out. I can't see anything outside the light," Harry told him. It was making him uneasy not being able to see if anything was coming. Just months out of the war and he was already losing the training he had worked so hard for after the last two years. Before the island that was what he had wanted, to put all that behind him. Now he was regretting letting his guard down. He really should have known that he wouldn't always be safe. He made a mental note to keep up on more than just medical and camping knowledge in the future.

The pair spent the next few moments putting out the fires and letting their eyesight readjust to the darkness while Hulk rested.

"Puck!" Mikes scream had them running fast in that direction, the not-wolf following not far behind.

Harry reached the scared teens first only to be extremely confused by what he was seeing. Finn was yelling silently, gesturing angrily at Harry. Mike was looking between Harry and a creature that had attached itself to his leg and looked to be nuzzling his knee. A quick _lumos_ illuminated the creature and Harry still had no idea what it was but it didn't look like it was hurting him. It's head came to Mikes knee and it had large rectangle scales in a golden tan in color except for it's belly which was white. The chubby creature had two small pointed ears and a small, slightly down turned, pointed muzzle. On either side of its rather adorable face were two large almond shaped eyes that were looking up at Mike with awe. The two small paws wrapped around his leg had three sharp claws, but were not actually digging into the startled boy.

"What happened?"

"I don't know! Finn sat down and this little guy yelped. I pulled Finn off it and it squeaked at me and just started hugging my leg and purring," Mike said quickly. "What is it?"

"You're gonna hate me, but I don't know. It seems friendly though," Harry pointed out. "Try talking to it."

"Hey little guy. You're ok. You wanna let go now," Mike spoke to the creature in a soothing voice, trying to remove the paws from his leg. That just caused it to hold tighter, though and Mike winced at the grip. "Okay. No worries. You can hold on." Mike looked at Harry helplessly. Harry shrugged, not having an answer himself. Mike sighed and sat down, which succeeded in loosening the grip, but then the creature crawled in his lap and curled up before closing its eyes.

"What is it with this island?" Puck asked. "Half of the monsters want to kill us and the other half want to be pets!" Hulk growled. "I mean companions," he corrected quickly.

"The seal lady didn't want to kill us," Mike pointed out as he began to pet the critter in his lap which started to coo at the boy.

On the side of them was Finn who was waving his hand wildly at Harry. When the wizard finally looked away from the animal in Mike's lap, Finn glared at him and pointed to his mouth.

"Can you just leave him like that?" Puck whispered loudly, getting a chuckle from Harry and another glare from Finn. Harry shook his head and cast a _finite_ at the silent teen and regretted it almost immediately.

"What gives you the right to put a spell on me," the tall teen roared.

"It was probably the fact you couldn't keep your fat gob shut! I told you there was something there and you went and screamed like a little girl telling it we were there. If it weren't for you we could have gotten away before it ever even breached the shields! And here you are yet again yelling in the middle of the bloody desert when we still don't know what is out here! You are putting everyone's lives in danger because you can't hold yourself together and be a man for five bloody minutes! Now shut the hell up, sit down, preferably without crushing another innocent creature with your gigantic body, and give it a rest," Harry told him angrily from between clenched teeth.

Harry turned away without waiting for a response and went to check on Hulk, conjuring a big bowl of water for the concussed not-wolf. Puck came and sat with him a moment later. Harry was still seething at the nerve of Finn he wasn't much in the mood to talk. Luckily Puck must had guessed and didn't say anything. He just sat down and removed the pouch from around his neck before letting the couatl slither into his palm.

::Is it safe now, Daddy?::

"It's ok," Puck soothed the worried snake, petting her scales gently. "You're safe. I told you I would protect you."

::I know, Daddy. I wasn't worried at all.::

"You know, you still need a name. I can't have any daughter of mine walk- er slithering around without a name now can I?" Puck asked, scratching the underside of the snakes chin making her hiss in pleasure."How about Rainbow?" The baby looked back at her wing and then to Puck and shook her head. "Too obvious? I guess Midnight is out too then. Alright, little lady, how about Layla? "

The snake fluttered her wings and nodded. ::I like that name, Daddy. Thank you."

"Alright, Layla it is. Why don't you go tell Harry your new name?" Puck lowered the couatl to the dirt and she slithered over to Harry, sliding up his legs until she was on his lap.

::Hi, Speaker-Daddy. My name is Layla. Daddy gave a beautiful name.::

Harry smiled at the snake. ::Yes he did, very beautiful. I'm not your Daddy though.::

::Of course you're not my Daddy. You're my Speaker-Daddy.:: The snake hissed with laughter. ::Silly Speaker-Daddy.::

::Layla, not everyone can be your Daddy,:: he told the snake.

::But you fixed me when I was hurting, and then your protected me and Daddy from the monster. That's what daddies do. Do- do you not want to be my Speaker-Daddy?:: she asked in a trembling hiss.

Harry rushed to reassure the baby, picking her up and cuddling her. ::No, that's not it at all Layla. I promise. I would be honored to be your Speaker-Daddy.::

::Yay! I'm going back to Daddy now. He will give me more loves.:: she informed him so he lowered her to the ground. Harry groaned and dropped his head into his hands.

"What's wrong? What did she say?" Puck wanted to know.

"She thinks I'm her 'Speaker-Daddy'. You are supposed to take care of her and give her loves and I am supposed to heal and protect both of you, apparently," Harry revealed without looking at the other boy.

Puck's laughter caused him to snap his head up. "What did you tell her?"

"I tried to tell her I wasn't, but she started crying! Crying, Puck! How can I refuse a crying baby who thinks I don't want to be her daddy?"

This just caused Puck to laugh even more. "She already got you wrapped around her tail, man. Looks like I'm going to have to be the one who makes the rules in this relationship other wise she's gonna slither all over you."

"She was _crying_!"

Puck just shook his head and smiled. Layla let loose a huge yawn so Puck scooped her back up and held out the pouch. "Back to sleep for you, little miss."

::Good night, Daddy, Speaker-Daddy.::

"I need some more sleep, too," Harry told him as he watched Puck replace the pouch around his neck. "I think if we set up the sleeping bags without the tents we would be able to tell sooner." Harry transfigured some bags before standing up. "You set these up and let the others know, I'm going to set up some more wards around the area. We still have a few hours until light so we should sleep while we can."

It took Harry almost a half-hour to set up some stronger wards and by that time the others were already asleep. He collapsed into his own bag and fell into a light sleep, able to wake up at the slightest noise just in case. The scorpion monster never came back, or any other creature for that matter.

Light came far to early in everyone's opinion. Morning camp was silent while they ate and got ready. The small animal was still attached to Mike, following him around as he moved. The boy didn't seem concerned and actually seemed to like the creature. Hulk was all better after the rest and Harry was thankful he hadn't gotten too hurt last night.

They made their way across the desert, the large black mountain growing closer and closer until at noon they finally reached the base. The steep mountain towered over them, and they could barely see the summit. It was made of a dark rock Harry hadn't seen before. There was vegetation around the base, but nothing grew on the mountain itself.

They decided to stop at the base for lunch. Harry transfigured a large child's pool filled with water for Hulk to relax in while they ate. After he finished his own food, Harry conjured Prongs.

"Hey! We made it to the mountain. Are you all here yet?"

A few moments later Flibberty arrived. "Hey Harry. We arrived this morning. I can't wait to see you!"

"I miss you too, Luna. Prongs is going to lead you towards me. Send back either Titan of Flibberty to lead us back to you. That way we can meet in the middle. Alright? Oh, and we have a few...animals...with us so don't be alarmed. They are all friendly." Prongs bounded off with his message while the group got ready to go.

Soon Titan appeared, "Thanks for letting us know, Harry. We're curious to see what kind of animals you would have to warn us about. Luna thinks you found a Kapertifty. Looking forward to seeing ya, mate. Just follow Titan."

After the message ended the large sea turtle turned from Harry and began to swim in the direction it had come from. The general mood was excitement as they followed the Patronus. Harry didn't know what they would do after they met up, but at least they would all be together.


	14. Chapter 14

Puck walked beside Harry as they followed the floating sea turtle. They had been walking for almost an hour already through the short grass at the base of the mountain. They could still see the desert about a mile away where it had ended abruptly. Hulk bounded along side them occasionally running and snapping at the turtle, which just swam through the not-wolf. Max the pygmy puff was riding on Finn's head while the small sandy creature was still following along at Mikes heel and the teen occasionally reached down to pat the animal's head, earning himself a coo or giggle.

Layla was still curled up in her pouch on his chest. Puck was looking forward to when she was feeling well enough to ride on his shoulders instead. He had been amused at Harry's stricken face when he told Puck that the couatl thought he was also her daddy. It sounded an awful lot like the baby thought Puck was her mother, but he decided to ignore it and never speak of it as long as Harry didn't either. If he was being honest at the moment he was far more capable of taking care of and providing loves than healing or protecting anyway.

"I still have one question left," Puck blurted suddenly.

Harry snorted at the statement. "What?"

"A question about your animal form. I've still got another one."

"You're right. Have you thought of one yet," Harry asked smiling at the mohawked teen.

"As a matter of fact I have. I already know you are bigger than a person, don't have paws or stripes and you're a magical animal. You're not a stag, panther, bird, snake or llama. So my question is this: Is there any chance that I will ever guess the right animal?"

Harry looked at him for a moment. "Sorry, but no. I tried to tell you."

Puck slumped his shoulders in defeat. "Really?"

"Really. I don't even know much about it, basically only the name. We've been searching for information ever since I first transformed but only found a brief description of my appearance and a name. We are pretty sure the creature is Japanese in origin because that is what the book where we found the name was written in."

"Will you show me?" Puck asked. He was really curious now.

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I'll show you tonight after we meet up with the others."

"Hey, guys. Look, it's doing it again," Mike called from behind the pair. They both turned to see where Mike was pointing. In the distance where the desert was the landscape abruptly turned into a swamp. Except for the mile radius around the mountain where it remained the same grassy area.

"That is so weird. I wonder why that keeps happening," Mike said.

"At least we don't have to walk through that," Finn reasoned.

The boys continued their walking until suddenly Prongs appeared in front of Titan, the two swirled around each other before they disappeared completely. Beside Puck, Harry gasped and grinned widely.

"Nev? Luna?" Harry yelled out.

"Where are they? I don't see them!" Finn said.

Mike pointed in the distance. "There they are!"

Sure enough little figures could bee seen coming from around a curve of the mountain base about a mile away. There were five of them walking towards their group. Mike and Finn let out a loud whoop and with huge smiles took off at a run towards their friends. Puck shared a smile with Harry at their enthusiasm and took off at a jog to try and keep up with the other two.

Mike and Finn reached them first. Mike swept a tired but happy looking Tina off her feet and twirled her around while the sand creature waddled faster trying to reach Mike. Finn scooped up Kurt in a huge hug, the boy's feet dangling in the air as he yelped.

"Finn! You giant, put me down!"

Puck snickered and got a good look at Harry's friends as the boy went over to greet two of them. The boy, Neville he assumed as his voice was the same as the sea turtle, was a tall handsome boy their age and he pulled Harry into a tight hug. Puck fought down a flare of jealousy and looked at the small blonde girl next to Neville which had to be Luna. The whole group looked exhausted but happy. Puck stood to the side and let the friends greet each other and noticed another blonde preppy looking boy watching the group with a sneer on his face.

"Harry! Where did you find a Cù-Sìth?" Neville's voice broke through Puck's observing and he looked at the boy who was watching Hulk in awe as the not-wolf collapsed in the grass from the running.

"A what?" Harry asked sounding bewildered.

"You don't even know? That's a Cù-Sìth, Harry. We went over them in Care of Magical Creatures in sixth year," Neville told him.

"What's a Cù-Sìth," Puck asked curiously. The others around looked to Neville at Puck's question. Tina and Kurt looked warily at the huge green not-wolf while Mike and Finn just looked curious. The blonde boy just sneered some more.

"Oh! Sorry guys. Puck this is Neville and Luna. They are some of my oldest friends. Neville and Luna, this is Puck. He's my...er..." Harry looked confused so Puck helped him out.

"Boyfriend," Puck supplied wrapping an arm around the teen's shoulders and was almost blinded by the smile Harry shot him. Hell, if Puck was willing to run in and fight a monster for the guy of course he was going to claim him for his own.

"Yes. That," Harry finished with a slight blush.

"Wow. You move quick, mate," Neville said with a smile at Harry followed up with a calculating glance at Puck.

Kurt snorted. "Only you could get in a plane crash, land on a deserted island and still hook up, Noah."

"Chill, Princess. Harry's not a hook-up," Puck replied rolling his eyes. "Honestly, you sleep with half the town and no one lets you forget it."

Harry chuckled beside him. "Noah?"

Puck mock glared at the green eyed boy. "Keep it up, Chos-"

"Shutting up," Harry cut him off quickly.

"So Scarhead got himself a muggle boy toy. The Prophet is going to love this one," the blonde broke into the light conversation.

Harry's grin fell off his face as he faced the pale boy. "Malfoy, I really can't see even you giving Skeeter the scoop from here."

"We're not going to be in this thrice-damned place forever, Potty," Malfoy smirked. Puck was beginning to dislike this boy.

"Well, I will worry about that later, Ferret. I have better things to think about like oh, I don't know, getting off the island."

The blonde sneered but didn't respond. Puck saw Malfoy look him up and down with disgusted expression that disappeared instantly to be replaced by fury when he took in what was on Puck's arm.

"You gave a muggle a wand! Are you really that daft, Potter?"

"No, I didn't," Harry replied, but didn't expand.

"I can see it! Give it here," the boy demanded and reached for the sheath on Puck's arm.

"Fuck no. It's mine." Puck glared at the annoying teen who dared try and take his wand.

"Listen up, muggle. You can play wizard later. My wand was lost in the crash so. Give. It. Here," Malfoy growled.

Puck crossed his arms over his chest, just under Layla's pouch, and glared at the blonde. "No," he repeated firmly.

"Noah, just give the guy the wand," Kurt sighed.

"No," Harry said, tightening his arm around Puck's waist with a glare at both Malfoy and Kurt. "It's his. I gave it to him and it's staying where it is. Get over it, Malfoy. Next time don't be a daddy look alike and turn your wand into a cane. Can't loose it if it's strapped to your arm," Harry told him smugly. Puck was getting to see a whole new side to Harry, interesting.

"Look," Neville broke into the glaring competition, "we've just met up after a week apart. Obviously stuff has happened here that we don't know about. Why don't we make camp here for now until we know what we will be dong."

"Shut it, Fat-bottom," Malfoy snarled. "That wand is mine." The boy made to grab at Puck's arm but Harry was in between them with his own wand drawn and in the blonde's pointed face before the boy could get any closer.

"Come near him again and you'll see exactly what I'm capable of, Malfoy. I mean it. Back off," Harry hissed.

The blonde paled and stepped back. "Fine. Set up your stupid camp."

Puck kept an eye on Malfoy while the other three wizards began to transfigure seats. The camp was more elaborate that they usually made. It looked like the girl, Luna, was really good at this type of magic. When they were finished the camp, if it could even be called that, looked more like a living room with couches arranged in a square facing each other on a lush blue carpet. Harry and Puck set on a love seat directly across from Neville, Luna, and Kurt. Mike and Tina curled up together next to Finn on the couch parallel to the one Malfoy was sitting sullenly on.

Once everyone was comfortable, Neville started. "First, I would love to know where these...creatures came from, Harry. Only you would be found in the company of a Cù-Sìth."

Harry grinned unrepentantly. "They sort of just attached themselves to us. Hulk here," Harry patted the large head that rested on the arm of the couch where the not-wolf was laying beside it, "he saved my life from some huge tree monster. If it wasn't for him, none of us would have made it here."

"Cù-Sìth are faery dogs, Harry. They protect and guard faeries," Neville revealed, causing confusion.

Harry turned to the Cu-Sith. "Then why did you help me?" Hulk rolled his eyes without lifting his head up then chuffed. "Right, Can't speak." Hulk lifted his head and shook it then raised a massive paw to poke at Harry's leg. "I...don't know what that means."

"Wait. He can actually understand you," Tina asked quietly.

Harry nodded. "Yeah, so far."

"Cù-Sìth can understand all languages, they just can't speak," Neville confirmed. "So how did you get a pygmy puff?" Neville asked pointing to the pink puff still on top of Finn's head.

"I don't know, man. I was in the jungle looking for food and he was just sitting on the ground," Finn told him taking the puff off his head and letting it roll around in his palm.

Luna cooed and reached over to the other couch to pet the pink ball. "You are so cute, Barbie!"

"HA!" Puck shouted, startling Harry beside him. "Told you!"

"His name is Max, NOT Barbie," Finn told Luna.

"Well, that's just silly. She looks more like a Barbie to me."

"Told ya so, Frankenteen," Puck gloated. He liked this girl.

"Ok, Ok. Pink cotton ball aside, what in Gaga's name is that," Kurt asked pointing to the sandy creature sitting by Mike and Tina's feet.

Mike reached a hand down to pet the creature who closed his almond shaped eyes and squealed in delight making Tina 'aww'. "We don't know. Finn almost squished him, and when I helped him out he kind just stuck to me. He's friendly though, obviously," Mike finished with a fond look at the creature. They all looked at Neville hoping for an answer.

"Don't look at me. I have no clue what that is," the boy declared, holding his hands up in defense.

"I do," Luna said dreamily. They all waited for her to expand, but when she stayed silent Harry prompted her.

"What is it, Luna?"

"Sandshrew."

"Sandshrew? What is that?" Mike asked.

"They live in sandy areas and can curl in into tiny balls. They absolutely hate water, so bubble baths for him," Luna told Mike seriously, shaking her head for extra emphasis.

"Luna? That isn't a made up creature, is it?"

"Harry," Luna stated with a pitying look, "how can he be imaginary if Tina is petting him right now?"

Puck looked at the wizard cuddled up under his arm. "She does have have a point."

"True. Alright then. A sandshrew it is," Harry agreed.

"Can we please address why you gave a muggle a wand, Potter. Or what you were doing with an extra wand anyway," Malfoy interrupted.

"It's not my wand, Malfoy. When I woke up on the beach lots of people were hurt so I used the training we got during the war to help where I could. One of the Hufflepuffs didn't make it," he told them sadly. "There was an Auror on the plane who lost his wand, so I told him that he might find one with the student. Mike, Finn, Puck and I went to send a message for help. They had already found out about magic and wanted to see more so they came with me further down the beach to watch me send Prongs. That's how we found out nothing could leave the island. When we made our way back to camp not even an hour later all the muggles and the Auror were gone.

"We searched for any sign of them but found nothing, not even those who didn't survive the crash. The only thing I did find was that wand. I pocketed it just in case. Later that night it fell out of my pocket and Puck picked it up. We were all shocked to see sparks shoot out of the tip. Somehow Puck has magic, he's a wizard not a muggle. I've been teaching him what I can, mostly charms and defense. So, no, Malfoy, you cannot have the wand. It has bonded to Puck, it belongs to him now," Harry informed the sulking boy much to Puck's delight.

"Then why did you dress the mudblood up as a Slytherin," Malfoy sneered. "Magic or not he'd never be worthy of the noble Slytherin house."

"Malfoy, stop," Neville said and surprisingly the blonde did. "Really, Harry, he hasn't been too bad the last week. I honestly think you bring it out in him."

"Probably," Harry conceded. "I don't know if you guys have noticed, but there is something really off about this island," Harry said addressing Neville and Luna mostly, not so subtly shifting the conversation.

Neville nodded at the black haired boy. "We've noticed. I woke up still half in the ocean. I saw Luna and Malfoy fighting with some people. The muggles were crowding up on them, shouting at them. Malfoy had pushed Luna behind him and was yelling right back, so I knew something had to be wrong. I made my way out of the water and when I got close enough I was able to hear what they were saying. Luna had used her magic to save Kurt and Tina from drowning but someone else saw her and called her a demon. Luna was frightened and stunned the man before he could reach her, and that just brought more attention. At first when I got to the group the muggles thought I was one of them, but when Luna ran to me they started yelling at me too. They were getting really aggressive and I didn't want to have to attack so we backed off and went further down the beach without them.

"The next day Tina and Kurt came running up to us. The muggles had all disappeared while they slept leaving only the two of them. They said they knew we weren't bad since we helped them so they joined us. I sent a message off to Snape and Luna sent one to you. After we started making our way here we ended up going through a rock quarry and a plain. Just last night we got caught in an arctic tundra, that's why we were late. We had to keep casting and recasting warming charms."

"We went though a jungle, grassy hills and a desert. Did you guys run into any monsters or anything," Puck asked.

"No, we saw some really odd creatures but no monsters," Kurt told them. "We saw a abominable snowman. It kind of just saw us and then wondered away, no monster like behavior."

"In the hills we were attacked by tree monsters that tried to AK us. We came across a selkie and Finn almost got eaten by horse fish."

"Tree monsters?" Neville asked looking excited.

"Yeah, man. They were fricking huge! They kept shooting at us with this green light. It was scary. Then Harry killed it and it like screamed. It was horrible. But we're really glad he didn't die," Finn rushed out.

Neville looked a bit sick. "Harry. These tree monsters, were they sort of glowing yellow?" Harry slowly nodded looking scared. Neville dropped his head into his hands at the confirmation. "Harry, you killed a spriggan?" Neville moaned in despair.

"Hey, man. They were trying to kill us. They attacked first, Harry was just protecting us," Puck defended. He didn't want Harry to feel guilty for saving his life.

"What's a spriggan?" Mike asked.

"Nature guardian. Protector of the land of Faery. The horse fish you said attacked Finn was probably a kelpie. Selkies, kelpies, spriggans and a Cù-Sìth. I hate to say it, but I think you guys walked right through faerie land."

"Fairy land. You know, it sounds a lot less dangerous than it actually was when you say it like that," Puck pointed out.

"So how are we going to get off this island," Kurt asked.

"You all noticed the barrier keeping everything in," Harry asked. The rest nodded. "I don't know. Nothing I sent could get out. I tried calling house-elves even, but nothing. For right now, until we come up with something, we are just going to have to find a way to survive here. Now it looks like there are a number of different 'biomes' on the island, each one equip with it's own specific creatures. I know they can cross over, since we brought our companions with us. There doesn't seem to be any here in this section though, it looks like this mountain is the center. All the biomes stop about a mile out, so I think we should stay around the base of the mountain."

"Shouldn't we wait on the beach? I thought we were only coming inland to meet up, then making out way back out," Kurt told them.

"If we stay here we can reach all the different environments quicker, though," Mike pointed out.

"Why would we need to do that?" Finn asked.

"Food and stuff. On the beach we only have the fish and whatever biome we have at our backs."

"But anyone looking for us wouldn't see us here," Tina pointed out.

"We can climb the mountain, set a fire up top. That would be out best bet at being seen," Neville suggested.

"Who would climb it though? That mountain is really steep," Puck asked looking up at the towering black mountain.

They were all silent for a moment, before Malfoy sighed and spoke up. "I can do it," he told them resignedly.

All the teens turned to look at the posh boy in disbelief. Malfoy rolled his eyes and then began to shift. Light gray fur with dark spots rolled over the boy as his body shrank and reformed. After a moment instead of the pointy faced aristocrat was a large cat. Bright eyes watched in amusement as the muggles gaped. A long thick tail curled around short stocky legs and huge furry paws as the cat settled down into the sofa. If a cat could smirk, Puck was pretty sure that's what this one was doing.

"A snow leopard. You're a snow leopard. Harry, he's a snow leopard," Puck repeated dumbly.

"Yes, Puck. I can see that. You knew what an animagus was."

"Yeah, but I hadn't seen it yet! That was crazy."

Neville snickered. "Wait until you see Harry change."

Puck turned away from the cat to look at his boyfriend. "Yours is even cooler than that?"

Harry shrugged. "I've never seen me change, have I? I've heard it's neat though."

"Neat? No, Harry. Me growing a mane and turning into a lion is neat. Luna turning into a Capuchin monkey is neat. Your transformation is... breath taking," Neville said with a large amount of awe.

"Ok. Now, you gotta show me," Puck told Harry.

Harry grabbed Pucks head and pulled him down until the wizard was speaking into his ear. "I said I'd show you later. It's kinda private."

Even though he was confused, Puck nodded in agreement and lifted his head back up to look at the others. "So if Malfoy can climb the mountain, what kind of signal is he going to use?"

"Flashing enchantment," Luna spoke up. "We can enchant something for him to take up that will flash on and off so someone can see it."

Malfoy shifted back to human. "It can't be too heavy or it will throw off my balance," he told the group. "This mountain is too steep to take the chance."

"We need to use something permanent too. If we transfigure something it will stop flashing once the transfiguration runs out," Luna reminded.

We can find something, I'm sure. I don't we should try until tomorrow though. It's already starting to get late and Malfoy is going to need hours to get up and back," Neville said.

"Neville's right, we should probably start thinking about setting up tents and finding dinner," Kurt told the group.

"We've still got some fruit and fish," Finn told his brother. "But only enough for probably today and tomorrow.

"We have some fish too. Neville's been picking up edible plants along the way so we have those but we are going to need something more," said Tina.

"Let's worry about all that tomorrow. We didn't get much sleep last night. We got attacked by a fire shooting scorpion thanks to someone's big mouth," Harry said with a halfhearted glare at Finn.

"It was huge! What was I supposed to do?"

"Not scream like a five year old girl," Puck stated.

"Whatever, Puck. Like you were any better when you saw the tree monsters," Finn retorted.

"Guys, it's done now. Let's just relax, okay? We all got our friends back at least," Mike placated.

"You're right, Mike. Luna, do you think you could do our tents too?" Harry asked sheepishly. "I never got the hang of wizard tents."

"Of course, Harry. How many do we need?"

Harry looked up at Puck, the question written across his face. "Oh, were still sharing, babe. I can't let you go without your cuddles," Puck told him matter of factly.

Harry blushed then flipped the bird to Neville who was snickering. They ended up needing 5 tents. Neville and Luna got a two room tent and so did Finn and Kurt. Mike and Tina shared a single room tent like Puck and Harry. Malfoy of course got his own. While the small blonde girl started making the tents, Harry and Neville changed the living room like camp to more of camp site that they had been using with a fire and chairs. The rest unpacked the food from the bags to be cooked.

When everything was set up they sat around telling stories of their travel to the mountain. Luna and Neville offered to help Puck learn the things Harry wasn't able to teach while they were stuck on the island. Luna would be teaching him transfiguration and Neville Herbology. Puck was excited, a little over whelmed, but in a good way. He was looking forward to learning all he could about magic since he didn't know what would happen when they left the island.

Harry and Neville set up strong wards around the campsite. Harry told Puck that with the two of them it would take less time to build the semi permanent wards. If they decided to stay in one place they would make permanent ones that would last a long time and would be keyed so that only certain people could cross in.

By mutual agreement they all ended up heading to bed early that day. The rush to meet up had drained them all and they needed sleep. When Puck walked into the tent Luna set up for him and Harry he stopped at the opening and just stared until a laughing Harry pushed him further in. It was huge! From the outside it had looked just like tent Harry had set up. On the inside however, was a completely different story. There was a small living room with a couch and recliner. Behind that was a kitchen with a table and two chairs. On the opposite side of the tent was a giant rectangular cushion, which confused Puck until Hulk wondered in behind Harry and collapsed onto the cushion.

Puck wondered around their tent, finding not only a bedroom with a queen size mattress, but a working bathroom. He stared longingly at that room for a moment before venturing back out into the rest of the house. Harry was watching his movements with a fond smile.

"I felt the same way the first time I was in a wizarding tent," Harry told him.

Puck smiled at the grinning boy and walked up and wrapped his arms around Harry's waist, pulling his against chest, careful not to squish Layla. Harry tilted his smiling face up and Puck captured those tempting lips with his own. After a moment the tanned boy drew back, still smiling down at Harry.

"I love magic."


	15. Chapter 15

Harry slept through dawn the next day, enjoying the feeling of relative safety. Between the heavier wards and having joined two of the people he had trained in combat with he had little worries that something could attack without him knowing. So when light hit the tent the wizard just grumbled and rolled over, tucking his face into Puck's chest who had spooned up behind him and went back to sleep without ever really waking up.

When Harry did wake up it was to a ticking on his ribs. Stifling a giggle, he looked down to see Layla curled around Puck's forearm which was resting on Harry's waist. The couatl must have been dreaming because her little wings were fluttering against Harry's skin. Harry smiled at the snake and used stealth to wiggle out of Puck's embrace without waking the other teen and made his way to the bathroom.

After a much needed hot shower Harry made his way out of the tent, passing a still snoring Hulk. Once outside he saw both Luna and Neville sitting at a new common sitting area they must have arranged in the center of all the tents which were arranged in a circle around it. Now that they all had kitchens in their tents they wouldn't have to worry about camp fires to cook anymore.

On the heel of that thought, Harry considered what they were going to do for food. Between the two groups they had enough for a day or two, but they were going to need to go hunting. With nine teenagers to feed they were going to need a lot of food. That wasn't even counting the animals. Hulk had been getting his own food since he joined them, but here in this ring there were no animals and the closest biomes were the desert and swamp. He hated to admit it, but they were not going to be able to stay there. The group needed to settle into an area that provided what they needed without having to travel too far.

Harry made his way over to his friends, collapsing on a sofa. "Morning," he greeted.

"Good morning, Harry. We we're just talking about what to send up with Malfoy," Neville told him.

"What have you got so far?"

"We were thinking going simple with a rock. We don't know how long we are going to be here so we can't use a stick or anything plant in case it decomposes. We just have to find a rock light but big enough to be seen. We can use rope to secure it to Malfoy's back," Neville informed him. Harry snorted at the image. Neville must have guessed correctly what Harry was thinking because he sent the green eyed boy a disapproving look. "Really, Harry. He's not so bad. I mean, yeah, he's a prat, but if we are going to be stuck here can't you just try and get along with him?"

"He protected me from the muggles, Harry. Even though he didn't have his wand," Luna reminded him.

"You guys know I don't really mean it. It's just familiar, it's how we communicate. I know Malfoy isn't an evil git anymore, just a normal git." Harry looked at his friends who didn't seem to accept his reasoning. The wizard groaned. "I'm going to have to be a grown-up about this, aren't I?"

"Yes," they replied in unison, both nodding.

Harry threw his hands up. "Fine! I guess if I can get along with Snape I can get along with Malfoy," He conceded. "Actually, speaking of Snape do we have any idea where all these people disappeared to or why none of us did."

"Other than Luna's theory about the Gorging Gilpie-"

"Galumping Gorloft," Luna corrected.

"Yes, that. Other than that, we don't know. It can't be our magic because the Tina and Kurt are muggles." Neville paused. "Though we never had them try a wand or anything, maybe they are wizards now like Puck. Nice going there by the way, mate."

Harry grinned. "Thanks. So I didn't really get to talk to Tina and Kurt much last night. What are they like?"

"Well Tina is kind of quiet, but really sweet. She doesn't mind getting her hands dirty and she definitely pulls her weight around camp. I like her, she's good," Neville told him.

"I like Kurtie. He's nice and smart. Plus he's fierce."

Harry snorted. "Fierce, Luna?"

"Oh, yes. Very much so. The word just fits him. He was telling me he gets bullied at their school for being different, but I can tell he doesn't let it change him."

Harry smiled fondly at the blonde. "Sounds like someone else I know."

Luna blushed lightly. "So tell us about your muggles, Harry."

"They are hardly my muggles."

Neville snickered. "Well, at least one of them is."

Harry rolled his eyes at his house-mate and ignored the knowing look. "Mike is pretty cool. He's smart and really good at keeping the peace if theirs an arguement. Finn...well me and Finn don't really see eye to eye. At first we were cool, and he loved magic, even though he got a bit jealous 'cause Puck could use it, but he seemed to get over it quick. The problem started when we began to move inland. Finn kept getting upset because I didn't have all the answers when we got attacked. I think he's kind of over whelmed. I lost my cool at him the other night though. We got attacked by a huge fire shooting scorpion and the bloke started screaming at the top of his lungs. He really put us in danger. I had to spell him silent, so I'm pretty sure we're not going to be friends any time soon," Harry informed his friends.

"Muggles sometimes have trouble accepting magic, you know that better than most."

"I know, Luna. It was just a surprise cause he loved it at first." Harry shrugged. "It's not my problem, though. He'll have to get over it since he's trapped here with the rest of us."

"I'm sure he will. Now, tell us about a certain tanned yummy boy," Luna demanded.

Harry laughed at his friend and actually jumped at the chance to talk about the boy. "Puck. Well, Puck is kind of awesome. Only took a plane crash for me to find a guy," Harry joked. "I told him about almost everything except for the final battle." Neville looked surprised and Luna just looked curious, so Harry shrugged. "He was cool about it. Plus he saved my life the other night, so I know I can count on him. I'm not going to dance around it for a while then give in when I can just let it happen. I like him, he seems to like me, so I figure I should go for it. Gotta start living, you know?"

They nodded at him with understanding looks. And they did understand, Harry had explained it to them after his talk with Hermione and Ron hadn't gone as well as he'd hoped. Luna and Neville accepted where he was coming from when he told them he just wanted to leave and live for himself. The three of them had started to become closer even as Harry drifted apart from Ron and Hermione. Neville and Luna were even helping him find places to visit, even if their suggested vacation spots either featured a rare plant or mythical animal it was the thought that counted.

"We actually sort of met on the plane before it crashed," Harry continued, unable to stop now that he had started. "Once we were on the beach we just hit it off right away. He's charming and sweet, with a edge of bad boy so I know I won't have to protect him from everything in my life once he get's trained up a bit. Puck's smart too, even though he says he didn't do well in school. He's picking up magic so quick, he just gets it. Always wanting to know more about our world," Harry babbled on. "Plus, he's fucking gorgeous! His eyes? Wow. And oh, Merlin, his abs! We went swimming at the beach and you don't know how hard it was to not just lick his stomach."

"You talking about me?"

Harry jumped guiltily at the voice from right behind him and his friends giggled, obviously having seen the other boy come up behind him. Harry sent them a glare and then looked up to see Puck grinning down at him. Harry pouted at having been tricked, but Puck just laughed and swopped down to lay a kiss on him. Harry smiled into the kiss and raised his hand to the back of Puck's neck. Harry shifted his grip carefully and Puck yelped as he was pulled over the back of the couch and the laughing teen landed sprawled out with his head on Harry's lap.

"Hey! Watch it. The baby is sleeping," Puck told him pointing to where Layla had curled up around his neck. The dark snake looked like a necklace against Puck's tanned skin, her wings twitching lightly under his ear. Harry smiled fondly and petted her head softly. Harry ducked his head and stole another kiss from the boy, loving that he was so protective over the snake.

When Harry sat back up both Luna and Neville were smiling at the scene and Harry blushed, having momentarily forgotten they were there. Puck settled in, scooting around so he was comfy, still laying in Harry's lap. Seeing the boy wasn't going to move, Harry rested his hand on Puck's waist and the other in his hair.

"So what are we talking about, besides how much of a stud I am, of course," Puck asked.

"Of course," Harry said rolling his eyes. "We were talking about why all of us were spared when people disappeared." Harry looked up at his friends. "And when we found out Puck had magic, he let Mike and Finn try the wand too, and there was no reaction, so I think it was just Puck."

Neville nodded. "So why us?"

They were all silent, but it was Luna who found it first. "We're all young."

Puck looked confused. "What would that have to do with anything?"

"It's what we all have in common. All the people who disappeared on our beach were old, or at least older than us," Neville told them.

"Our beach too. They were all adults," Harry said thinking back. "I don't know why that would matter though. It doesn't make any sense."

"It's a magic island, babe. Most of the shit here doesn't make any sense," Puck told him.

"Ugh, Finn! Get out of the bathroom!"

Puck chuckled. "I guess Kurt and Finn are up."

Soon enough Kurt came storming out of the tent he shared with his brother, slightly disheveled from sleep. "Can I use someone else's bathroom please? My brother won't get out of the bathroom," the pale boy growled.

"You can use ours," Harry offered. "Just mind the huge not-wolf."

Kurt paled and looked pleadingly at Luna who giggled. "You can use ours, Kurtie. No critters in there." Kurt looked relieved and made his way to Luna's tent. Harry just shrugged, at least he had tried to warn the boy.

While they waited for everyone to join them Harry and Puck talked with Neville and Luna about the recently discovered wizards training. Harry was thankful for the help in teaching Puck. He knew defense and charms really well, but wasn't proficient enough with the rest to be able to teach it. Harry could tell Puck was excited to start learning about transfiguration after having watched them all do it around him. Once they were able to set up a permanent camp they wouldn't have to worry about being on the move, and Harry promised himself to teach the teen all he wanted to know.

It had been years since Harry had learned he was a wizard but could still remember the over whelming need to know all he could about the world he was now privy to. Puck wouldn't have the benefit of books or seeing Diagon Alley so Harry was going to make sure that his boyfriend still got whatever they could give him. Between the three of them, Harry knew Puck would not go lacking in things to learn if he put in the work. Seeing the look on the mohawked boys face at the opportunity to learn more, Harry was positive that Puck would work hard.

One by one the others trickled out of their tents and made their way to where the group was sitting in the common area until they were all sitting around eating the last of the fruit that his group had collected. Harry was laughing, feeding orange slices to the boy in his lap when Mike brought up the problem Harry had thought about earlier.

"Are we going to be staying here then?"

Harry shook his head. "I don't think we can."

"Why," Tina asked.

"There's no sustainability," Neville answered for him, and Harry nodded.

"Exactly. We are safe in this spot, but there's no food. I know we don't want to move again after it took us all this time to get to this spot, but we don't have a choice. We are running out of food. I think we should stay here in the base of the mountain, but move to where we can get to a biome for hunting. There are nine of us to feed after all and fish and fruit aren't going to cut it."

"How are we going to hunt though," Kurt asked. "We don't have any guns."

"I can hunt in my animagus form," Neville told them. "Malfoy probably could too," the boy in question looked horror struck at the thought and Harry laughed internally at the thought of the posh boy hunting. "We can transfigure knives or bows for anyone else to try. Those who don't want to hunt can gather plants. I can show those which plants are edible. Luna can get up into the trees in her form."

"So we are going back to being hunters and gatherers. I like it," Puck said with a grin. "What about you, babe. Can you hunt in your form?" the boy asked looking up at Harry who shook his head and made a mental note to transform for Puck as soon as possible. He could see the curiosity was killing him.

"When we find a place to settle we can set up the permanent wards to keep us all safe," Neville said.

"Permanent? Shouldn't we be working to get off this island instead of setting up like we're going to live here," Kurt asked.

"We don't know anyway off the island. It's not like we won't work on it, but for now we have to make it livable for as long as we're here," Harry explained. "Our priorities are health and safety, but we will be looking for a way off."

"If we start moving soon, I can look for a place to climb," Malfoy told them. "As a snow leopard I'm built to climb mountains, but it will help if we find a more approachable side."

Harry cast a _tempus_ that read 10:34am. "Will you have enough time to make it up and back by nightfall?"

Malfoy looked up at the towering mountain with appraising eyes. "No, probably not. If we can find a place today, I can start early tomorrow morning and make it back by night," Malfoy told Harry without a sneer any kind of insult. Harry was betting either Neville or Luna had given the blonde the same speech that he'd had about letting their rivalry go, at least for now. That would make it easier to get along with him and Harry was thankful.

"We should move soon then," Mike said. "Which direction though?"

"I think our best bet would be to go towards the jungle. There were plenty of fruit trees and there should be some game in there too," Harry suggested.

Since there were no better ideas, they packed up camp and set off. Harry had the privilege of waking up the sleeping Hulk, while Layla was settled into her pouch around Puck's neck. It was okay for her to be out around camp, but neither Puck nor Harry wanted her out while they were traveling.

Harry walked with Neville to discuss the possible wards for their site and Puck set off with Luna who was teaching him the fundamentals of transfiguration. Malfoy's eyes were darting up the mountain as they walked, looking for climbing points. After Neville, Harry moved flitted around the rest of the group and just chatted about different things, like missing their families and other friends or what they would be doing instead of being trapped on the island. Harry just nodded along and ignored the fact that now he really didn't have any actual motivation to leave quickly. It was actually kind of fun, like being on an adventure that wouldn't, hopefully, end in death.

In the distance the swamp gave way to the desert, which eventually gave way to the forest that they had avoided the day before. When they finally came to the point where the forest met the jungle they had been walking for six hours. About a mile before they stopped Malfoy found the place he would be climbing the next morning so they were all more than ready to stop for the day.

Semi permanent wards were set up while Luna set up the tents. Neville and Harry both agreed they would need hours to set up the permanent wards and didn't want to rush the job in this kind of environment. The spot they ended up settling in was a large grassy area, so they were able to see if anything were to come near even before the wards could pick it up.

As soon as dinner was finished Harry dragged Puck into their tent, bidding the rest of the group good-night as they snickered about what they couple were about to get up to. Harry didn't correct them about their assumption though.

Harry looked around the expanded tent, taking in the amount of room available. He shrank Hulk's bed and moved to stand in the now empty area.

"What are you doing, babe," Puck asked curiously as he sat on the coffee table.

"You wanted to see me transform. You ready?"

Puck jumped back up, his face lit in excitement. "Fuck, yeah! Let's see it!"

"Alright, just stay there until I'm finished and don't freak out, okay?"

(((000)))

Puck rolled his eyes at the green eyed boy. Really after all he had seen in the last week he doubted Harry turning into an animal was going to freak him out. "Come on, dude! I wanna see!"

Harry smiled then started to grow. And grow. And _grow._ Black fur grew covering pale skin. Puck watched intently, carefully not freaking out, as his boyfriend continued to transform until finally he stopped. The hazel eyed teen just stared wide eyed at the creature in front of him.

The animal was watching him carefully as Puck's brain tried to sort out exactly what it was seeing. At a quick glance the animal looked like a stag, but only for a second. Puck thought back for a moment on what Harry had said about his form: " _No, I'm not a stag like my dad."_ It was true. It still didn't look anything like a normal deer.

Harry was probably about 10 feet tall, not including the antlers which added another 5 feet at least. The long deer like legs and bottom half of the animal's body were covered in jet black fur. The chest, neck, and head were cerulean blue colored fur which trailed down his spine and tapered off in his fuzzy black tail. Harry's chest had two blue spikes that curved upwards protruding from it. The face of the animal was very deer like, but the bone from it's antlers traveled down the cheek area and the center of the nose. The same color bone ran along the edges of the creature's legs ending in a point which it walked on.

The antlers were the most breath taking of the transformation. They spanned about 5 foot wide and the larges and five foot tall. The reached up in eight individual horns , four on each side of his head, spread out like a fan and ending up in sharp points. Each one had a dark blue bulb near the base and a separate spike at the top in the same dark blue. The antlers and the bones on Harry's face and legs were all a pale light blue.

"Holy fuck, Harry. You're gorgeous," Puck whispered. Harry bowed his head slightly as if embarrassed by the praise and Puck reached out a hand before stopping himself.

"Can I touch you," he asked tentatively, not sure if that was allowed but Harry bobbed his head in assent. Puck gently petted the thick, coarse, blue fur on Harry's neck, having to reach up just to touch him. The animal was huge, bigger even than Harry's patronus! Harry started to make a high pitched purring sound as Puck stroked his fur.

"This is so amazing. I had no idea." Puck chuckled a bit, "You were right. I never would have guessed."

Harry lowered his head until it was level with Puck who notice his eyes were the same blue as his fur and the pupils were an odd X shape. The teen traced along the bones lining the animal's face, before carefully reaching up to feel the cold bone of the antlers. Puck had never seen anything more wonderful.

Harry shifted back under his fingers until the black haired boy was standing in front of him once again. "So, what do you think?"

"That was..." Puck shook his head, speechless for a moment. "That was fucking awesome," he exclaimed. He picked up the now smaller teen and whirled him around, both of them laughing. "That was the greatest thing I have ever seen in my life," Puck told him as he set him down. "What was it?"

Harry was still smiling as he pulled Puck over to the couch to sit. "Like I said before we don't really know much about it. The Japanese book only had a picture and underneath it was the caption: 'Little is known about Xerneas. It's mystery is only exceeded by it's power.' That's all it said. We know it's a magical animal because some weird stuff happens when I transform during a battle. According to my headmaster I am the first magical animagus since Merlin," Harry told him with pride.

"Well you look kick ass. Those horns are wicked sharp looking," Puck complimented him. Puck ran his hand through Harry's hair, imagining where the antlers had been moments ago.

"Oh, they are," Harry told him distractedly, leaning into Puck's hand. Harry's eyes drifted shut as Puck continued to play with his hair so the teen surprised him by leaning forward and kissing him. Harry groaned and leaned into Puck, opening under Puck's mouth. Puck fell back onto the couch, pulling Harry atop him, who squeaked at the sudden change in position, but quickly adapted and covered Puck's body with his own.

Puck arched into the touch as Harry's hand made it's way under his shirt, the green eyed wizard's fingers lightly playing across his abs. Puck's own hands slid up Harry's back caressing the hot skin there as their tongues dueled. Puck could tell Harry wasn't very experienced, but he didn't mind and silently guided their kiss. Puck became aware of a tugging on his shirt and pulled away long enough to tear it off. Once his skin was bare Harry immediately attacked, licking and biting his bared chest. Puck groaned under the attention and started to yank at Harry's shirt as well until the wizard pulled it off and sent it to join Puck's on the floor before frantically diving back to Puck's mouth. The mohawked teen was only too glad to accommodate Harry.

Harry pulled back, his face flushed and his breathing coming out in heavy pants. "I think it's time for bed."

Puck stared at the other teen incredulously. He had stopped a hot make out session to sleep? "I'm not tired," Puck whined, trying to reach up and get another taste of those lips. Harry gave him a wicked smirk which sent blood flying south.

"Neither am I."

Puck groaned, but accepted the hand helping him up. "That was so cliche."

Harry poked his tongue out at the teen. "Maybe, but your still following me."

Puck couldn't really argue with that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So his animagus has been revealed. If you don't know anything about it, do not fret darlings. Everything will be revealed as the story unfolds. Like with the other creatures revealed in this story and all the ones to come, no prior knowledge is required. Especially since I tweak the poor critters a bit to fit.


	16. Chapter 16

Harry woke what felt like minutes after he finally fell into an exhausted yet sated sleep beside his boyfriend. The wizard was no where near ready to wake up, but had set the alarm on his wand like he had agreed with Neville the day before. Reluctantly rolling out of bed, Harry made his way to the bathroom. With his face still wet from being splashed in an effective attempt to wake him up more the green eyed boy left the tent to find Neville already waiting for him in the common area in the center of camp.

"Late night," Neville asked with a grin.

"Actually, yes," Harry informed him with pride. "I can see why our dorm mates obsessed about it so much," he told the boy as they made their way out of camp.

"So you guys already shagged? Harry, you got to play hard to get at least a little bit, mate," Neville teased.

"No, Nev, we didn't shag. Still amazing though."

"I'm sure. Just...be careful, alright? I don't want to see you getting hurt. We heard a lot about Puck from Tina and Kurt," Neville explained. "I don't want you to be taken advantage of again."

Harry sighed. "I know you worry and I know I don't really have much experience in this kind of thing. I mean dating Ginny for a week doesn't make me an expert obviously, but I don't know. I can just tell he's sincere. I mean he didn't even hide that he's been around a lot and last night Puck didn't even make any comments about me not knowing what to do. He kind of just guided me a bit."

"I know you're an excellent judge of character, Harry. I am just a worrier, you know. I do like him though, but I think Luna is planning a you-hurt-him-and-I'll-kill-you speech for him."

"Oh, Merlin, that's terrifying," Harry told him seriously. "Make sure she doesn't go over board, Nev. She can be scary. Don't want to scare the poor bloke off now."

"How far are we going out?" Neville asked bringing them to the reason they were out so early.

They had decided to wake up while everyone else was asleep to set the wards. They knew Draco was going to be leaving early and they needed him inside to make sure it was keyed to him. When setting up permanent wards, each new layer was placed on top of one before until the caster achieved the desired combination. The wards Harry and Neville would be setting included one that would tie every human inside to the wards and in turn to both of the casters. They would be able to tell if anyone was in danger and be able to find them.

The wards always would set up in a sphere, kind of like a bubble, so it would protect them both from above and below as well as the side. The main set of wards would be the last one traveled though while approaching the camp. Fifteen feet in front of the circle was the ward that would keep out anything with ill intent towards anything inside the wards. Thirty feet further out were silencing and light dampening wards so they didn't attract any attention.

The pair walked to about thirty yards from the tents. They needed to make sure there was enough room inside the camp to move around comfortably without brushing the ward circle. Neville stuffed his hand into his pocket and brought it out to reveal the small stones he had pocketed on the walk the day before and handed half of them to Harry. They were going to visually enforce the chalk line with enlarged stones to make sure the muggles knew where the wards began.

Harry cast the first spell that would mark the circle they had to walk for the main ward. From the ground beneath his feet a purple line shot out and marked the ground moving quickly. The line quickly encircled the whole perimeter of the camp until it reached where it had began. The two teenagers nodded to each other, each already knowing the plan, then took their placed on either side of the line facing away from each other. Harry took the outside of the line, Neville the inside.

Their first pass would be to just place the enlarged stones on the line so they worked quietly moving away from each other, placing the stones on the purple line and then casting _engorgio_ , When they met back where they had begun that was where the real work began. They both were required to work in sync with perfect concentration on the spells they were casting. They had enough experience that Harry wasn't worried about getting the wards wrong, but they required the casters full attention to be at maximum power. There was no rushing a permanent ward casting.

They walked in circles for hours, the only sounds in the darkness were their murmured castings and the night insects. When they finally had the last ward cast, the sky was beginning to lighten. They stumbled their way back to their tents with sleepy farewells, not really up to chatting. Harry was completely spent as he collapsed into the now cold bed. He cuddled up to Puck, looking for warmth and the tanned teen wrapped an arm around the wizard drawing him back into his chest. A sleepy smile worked it's way over Harry's face as Puck nuzzled into the back of his neck. The wizard dropped off into a welcome sleep still smiling and completely content.

* * *

When Harry woke again the bed was empty and the tent was bright with the light of the day. He rolled over and stretched full out before making his way to a hot shower. When he left the bathroom he noticed that even Hulk was outside, so he went to join them. The sight he was met with outside the tent made his mouth water.

The tents had been rearranged into a U shape with the common area still in the middle. In the empty space Neville was showing Mike and Finn how to hold a sword while Luna and Puck were sparring with swords, the blue glow on the blades telling Harry they had been dulled with magic for practice. They must have been at it for a while because Puck was wearing just his shoes, shorts and Layla's pouch. Sweat gleamed off his soaked chest as he swung a broadsword against Luna's single-handed sword. Luna, dressed in just a light tank top and shorts, quickly parried and spun away.

Not really paying attention to anything but the broad tanned shoulders, Harry made his way to the seats and collapsed on the couch with suddenly ill fitting shorts. He really had no idea how long he watched the pair speechless when Puck signaled for a break and turned to the couch and yelled across the clearing.

"How am I supposed to concentrate when I am being eye-raped?" Puck called, meeting Harry's eyes with a grin. Puck started to jog over, and beside him Harry hear giggling. He tore his eyes away from the glorious sight to see Tina and Kurt also on the couches and both laughing at him.

Harry blushed furiously. "Er. How long have you been there?"

"Since before you came out. You almost sat on Tina," Kurt answered with a snicker.

Harry coughed, trying to convince his blush to leave. "I was admiring Luna's skill. She has really improved her technique. Any chance you believe me?"

Kurt and Tina just giggled and shook their heads while Puck plopped onto the seat beside him breathing heavily. "Nope. I think I might have burns from where you were staring so hard, babe," Puck told him rubbing his sweaty abs.

Harry gave up trying. "I can't help it. I don't know if my heart can take much more," Harry told him dramatically, fanning his face for full effect.

Puck lept across the small space separating them on the seat and pressed Harry into the cushion while kissing him hard. Harry drew back before he got too involved and pushed at Puck's chest, his hands sliding a bit in the teens sweat. "You're getting your sweat all over me! Go finish practicing."

"I had your dick in my mouth last night, Harry, I'm sure you can take a little sweat," Puck shot back cheekily.

Harry yelped and pushed him away harder, the blush returning full force. "You can't just say stuff like that, Puck!"

Puck just chuckled and stood up then removed the pouch around his neck. "Since your lazy ass is up, you can take care of the kid. Luna spelled the pouch so she wouldn't be hurt, but she needs exercise. She already ate, so your good to go."

Harry nodded and accepted the pouch along with a kiss before Puck jogged back to where Luna was waiting. Harry turned to look at Tina and Kurt. He hadn't really spent that much time talking to them the day before, but they seemed like good people.

"You guys aren't going to train with weapons?" Harry asked as he started to work the pouch open.

"Neville is going to show us about the plants instead. We don't really have the strength for a sword," Kurt told him.

"We should still get you both some practice with a knife, for protection while your outside the wards," Harry told him, finally getting the pouch open.

::Come on out. You need some fresh air, Layla,:: Harry said, holding the pouch sideways with his hand cupped at the opening.

Layla slithered out on to his palm, her rainbow wings shifting brightly in the noon sun. ::Morning, Speaker Daddy! Daddy said you were going to sleep the whole day!::

Harry laughed quietly. ::Well, I got up before Daddy, so that shows him.::

Harry looked up to see the other two teenagers staring at him in shock, so he held up the baby snake to their gazes. "This is Layla, she's a couatl."

"You can speak to snakes?" Tina asked.

"Yeah, but she can understand English like Hulk can, you just can't understand her back," Harry told them. The greatest thing is because they were Muggles they wouldn't react with fear. To them it wasn't any weirder than turning a bird into a cup.

"She's so beautiful. What's that on her back and tail," Tina asked curiously.

"Her wings and tail feathers. When Puck found her she was almost eaten by an animal, so he saved her. We were cleaning her off when we found the feathers."

"Why did Noah call her the kid," Kurt asked, still staring curiously at Layla.

"She's just a baby. When she get's a little bigger she will start being able to use her wings. They grow pretty fast so I'd say in about a year she would be about 6 feet long. In two to three years she will be fully grown at fifteen feet."

"She's going to be huge," Tina said with wonder.

Harry set Layla into the grass. ::Just don't go to far. If you start getting tired just say something, Layla. You'll still be a little weak, but Daddy was right. You do need exercise to get healthy again.::

"Okay, Speaker Daddy.:: Layla replied before slithering off into the grass. She giggled a bit and Harry looked to see she was chasing a bug and smiled fondly.

"Have you guys seen Hulk? He wasn't in the tent when I woke up," Harry asked.

"Yes. He came out with Noah a couple of hours ago. We were talking about having to go looking for food when he just got up and left camp. Mike said he would do that when you were all traveling so we just let him go. Neville is teaching the boys how to handle the swords and then Luna is showing them how to use them. When he's done Nev is going to come back over and start teaching Tina and I about the plants. That's pretty much all that has happened this morning. Draco was already gone by the time everyone was awake. Luna said she spelled what he would need last night so that he could leave early."

"It looks like they are taking to the swords well, at least," Harry commented.

"That, and they are so hot to watch while learning," Tina commented, earning enthusiastic nods from both Kurt and Harry.

Kurt looked up at the sun and sighed. "I should be in Chemistry right now, thinking about the songs I'm going to be singing after class during Glee," he told them.

"I'd probably be in Transfiguration, trying to turn a pig into a sheep. That's not as easy as it sounds by the way," Harry confided.

"I'd probably be at home pretending I was sick so I didn't have to go to school," Tina commented, getting a laugh from both boys.

"You know what really bothers me?"

"What's that?"

"I bought the cutest coat in London and now it's just gone," Kurt said with a mournful sigh.

Harry stared at the boy for a long minute before laughter burst out of him. "You're stuck on an island full of magical creatures and a lost coat is what bothers you?" Harry asked through his laughter.

"It was a beautiful coat," Kurt defended indignantly, only succeeding in making Harry laugh more.

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to laugh. It's just so random," Harry told him once his laughter died down. "Luna is really good at transfiguration. Have you talked to her about making you some clothes? If you describe them well, she should be able to get close," Harry offered.

That seemed to appease the boy because Kurt wasn't glaring so much anymore. The conversation moved on and Harry was glad to find that he really liked them. About an hour after he had come out of the tent, the rest of the group made their way back to their tents and came out freshly showered. Puck laid on his back with his head in Harry's lap again and grabbed the green eyed wizards hand and placed it into his wet hair. Harry laughed and began to run his fingers though the hair while Puck closed his eyes with a sigh.

Puck dropped his hand to the grass. "Layla," the teen called out softly.

::Daddy!:: Harry heard the excited squeal come from under the couch Tina was sitting on and the snake slithered out from beneath it quickly covering the distance and climbing up the hanging arm. The baby couatl settled on Puck's bare chest and he began to pet her. ::Daddy! I caught a green hopper! It was so crunchy and yummy. Can I have more of those? Pet my wings, Daddy.::

"What'd she say," Puck asked Harry, finally opening his eyes to look at his boyfriend.

"She caught a 'green hopper' and that it was yummy. Oh, and she wants you to pet her wings," Harry translated.

Puck moved his fingers to the tiny wings, gently spreading and stroking the small colorful feathers. "You caught a grass hopper? I'm so proud of you Layla. Your gonna be such a good hunter!" Puck praised the snake.

::Thank you, Daddy:: Layla said quietly, her wings fluttering at the praise.

"Seriously, babe. I don't know how you guys started all this at fifteen. It's exhausting," Puck complained. "I thought football was bad. I'm pretty sure my muscles may or may not have been turned into lava."

Harry shrugged. "You do what you have to do to survive," he told the teen truthfully.

Puck looked up at Harry, showing he understood Harry wasn't just talking about the island. The hazel eyed teen shifted for a second, before settling back down. "Come down here and kiss me, I'm too tired to move," he whined.

Harry chuckled and did as asked.

"So, what are the plans for the day," Mike asked.

"I think we should make our way into the line between the forest and jungle," Neville suggested. "We need food. Tina and Kurt, I can show you some of the easiest edible plants and Luna will stay with you just in case. Harry, Mike, Puck and Finn, you guys can hunt using the swords. It wont be easy, but it's possible. It will be easier for me to hunt by myself as a lion. You guys will be using numbers, I'll be using stealth. Do we have any idea what's in there for game?"

"Unicorns?" Finn suggested.

"NO," shouted Harry, Neville, Luna and even Puck in unison.

"We can't eat a unicorn, Finn," Harry told him shortly. "That is like the ultimate evil. Unicorns are pure. You just..." Harry shook his head, unable to find the words. "Just no."

"He asked what we could eat. I'm just trying to help," Finn told him sullenly.

"Since unicorns are not an option, ever, we don't really know what we are up against. Harry, make sure you don't kill anything that you shouldn't."

"Neville, I already said I was sorry about the spriggan. I didn't know!"

"I know, Harry. I just meant you have to guide the others since they don't know."

Harry nodded already working on a plan. "We traveled together, so I think I can make us work in a hunting party. It won't be easy, but I'm sure we can do it."

* * *

"Fuck you, Finn! If you didn't stomp around like an elephant we could have caught it," Harry yelled.

"Maybe if you let someone else lead, we wouldn't have this problem!"

"Oh? Like who? You? You dropped your fucking sword on your foot! And hopped around screaming! You are bat shit crazy if you think I would let you lead me anywhere!" Harry screamed up into the taller boys face.

"You think we should follow you just because you have magic! I don't give a shit about your magic! Actually, I fucking hate your magic!" Finn punctuated every word in the last sentence with a harsh poke to Harry's chest.

"You don't hate it. Your jealous of it!"

"At least I don't need a damn stick to take care of myself!"

"Oh, no your right. Your history of screaming and crying at the first hint of trouble really proves you can take care of yourself! Grow the fuck up! You're just a scared little girl in a giant fucking body!"

Harry stumbled back with the force of the blow to his cheek. Finn looked shocked. Puck looked ready to kill Finn. Mike just looked like he wanted to be anywhere else. To say that their hunting party had not been successful was a severe understatement. After hours of Finn scaring away prey they had actually managed to find an older doe in the forest before Finn had jumped the gun and tried to stab her without waiting for the signal. He had missed and the deer ran off into the forest. Harry called it quits and barely managed to make it back inside the wards before blowing up at the teen.

Harry held his hand up keeping the other teens at bay, though Puck reluctantly stayed. "You want to do this? I will hurt you, Finn," Harry told him point blank.

The look of shock faded from Finn's face to be replaced by anger. "Only because of your damned magic."

"You think? Fine." Harry quickly unstrapped the sheath on his arm and handed it careful to Puck with a warning to not try and touch the wand. "No magic now. You still think you can take me?"

"I'm twice your size, of course I can take you, you little frea-"

Harry didn't even let him finish the word. With all his power, the wizard charged Finn, driving him to the ground and wiping the smug smile of his face. They rolled around on the grass, each getting in some good shots, but Harry was clearly winning. The wizard had been trained for war, with or without a wand he was always ready for battle against Death Eaters. A teenaged Muggle wasn't any threat. Harry managed to restrain himself from seriously injuring the prat, but dealt enough damage to hurt for a while.

Strong arms wrapped around his waist puling him off the bleeding Finn. Harry struggled against the hold, still yelling at the boy. "How about now you bastard? You think you can take me now you fucking asshole!"

"Puck, take him into your tent. Luna, help Finn. Kurt, calm down. He didn't really hurt your brother," Neville instructed.

"No, don't heal the idiot. He hates magic, thinks were freaks! Why should we heal him if he hates us!" Harry shouted even as he allowed himself to be pulled towards his tent.

Neville groaned and rubbed his hand over his face before turning to Mike. "He called him a freak?" At Mike's nod Neville sighed. "You never call Harry a freak. Luna, just-"

The words cut off as the flap of the tent closed. Harry turned in Puck's arms to look at the tanned boy. "Why did you pull me off? I didn't even break anything."

Puck rolled his eyes. "I didn't want you to kill my friend. I have to say though, watching you fight was kind of hot."

"Does anything not turn you on," Harry asked with a light laugh.

Puck looked to be seriously thinking for a moment. "Nope, I think everything about you turns me on." Puck leered at Harry. "Want to go work off some of that energy? Calm down a bit before we go back out?"

"You have the best ideas."

* * *

An hour later the couple left their tent relaxed and happy. The atmosphere of the camp seemed the opposite. Neville and Luna were butchering the game Neville had caught in the empty space on near the wards and the others were talking quietly on the couches.

"You want to talk to your friends and I'll talk to mine," Harry asked. "I don't want everyone to be awkward just because Finn and I can't get along."

Puck nodded and let go of Harry's hand so he could go to his fellow glee members. On the way over he mentally braced himself. Finn still looked like he got the shit kicked out of him and Puck had to work to keep the smug satisfaction from showing. If Harry hadn't stopped him, Puck would have been glad to be the one to have made Finn look like that. They spent hours in the forest for nothing, listening to Finn ruin their chances at catching dinner and being an ass. He had a problem with not being the one in charge of their hunting party, even though it was painfully obvious he had no clue what he was doing. Puck had been surprised Harry had managed to stay quiet so long.

The group grew quiet as they watched him come closer. Unconcerned, Puck took a seat on what was becoming his and Harry's normal couch and waited for them to speak.

"Your boyfriend beat up my brother," Kurt stated angrily.

"Your brother deserved it," Puck told him honestly. "He started it, Harry finished it."

"Look at him!" Kurt demanded pointing at Finn's face, which was sporting some nasty bruises and a wounded puppy dog expression.

"Listen, Princess, I don't know what Finn has been saying, but it was his fault. The entire time we were hunting he was being an ass. It was because of him we came back empty handed. They were arguing and Finn punched him in the face, called Harry a freak. The way I see it Harry warned him, and Finn kept pushing then look what happened."

"We all know my brother can be a little insensitive, but did he really have to go all out on him, though?"

"Kurt," Puck said seriously," Harry is a war hero. Do you really think this," Puck waved his hand at Finn, "is going all out? He didn't even use magic! This is Harry holding back. Finn is used to being the one everyone looks up to but here, on this island, he doesn't know anything."

"I don't think we should listen to him just because he has magic," Finn argued.

"Oh, my god, Finn. We are not listening to him just because he has magic! Fuck! Neville has magic, Luna has magic, fuck even the preppy blonde has magic. Did you notice even all them listen him? It's not because he has magic, it's because he's a leader. He knows what he's doing and is trying to make sure everyone is taken care of. Harry's saved all our lives. Mike would have died on the beach if it wasn't for him. You never would have found your brother. Just give it up."

"And I don't like what he's doing to you either," Finn continued.

"Are you even listening to me? And what has Harry done to me," Puck demanded.

"You've turned into this goopy lovey mess. Eating out of his hand, laying in his lap. You just met last week and you guys follow each other around like your in love or something. How do you know he hasn't put a love spell on you or something?"

"That's too far, Finn," Mike interrupted.

"I think they are sweet together," Tina added.

"I'm your best friend, and you are choosing this guy over me!"

"You hate him just because he has magic, Finn. News flash: I'm a fucking wizard too. Are you going to hate me too?"

"Is that true, Finn?" Kurt asked with disappointment. "I thought you had learned. You can't just hate someone for the way they were born. I'm not taking his side, but if the only reason you don't like him is because of something he can't control then I'm not going to feel sorry for you."

"I don't understand how everyone else is just so calm! We're supposed to be building a raft or making smoke signals, but he says make camp and everyone just jumps. He's not even trying to leave and no one cares! He said it himself. He has no family, no one waiting for him. Well, I do! I have Rachel and my mom and Burt and a _life_."

"We all have people at home we want to see, Finn. There is no way off, so we need to prepare to stay until we figure it out. Freaking out at the person protecting us isn't going to get us home any faster."

Finn sighed and ran his hands through his hard roughly, wincing when he accidentally brushed a cut. "I know, alright, I know. I just see him all calm and collected and it just pisses me off."

"Can you at least just try to get along with Harry," Kurt asked his brother.

"Yeah, Kurt, I'll try."

"And no more punching him?"

Finn looked at Kurt like he was insane. "Are you kidding me? He kicked my ass. No way I'm hitting him again." Puck snickered. "Shut up, Puck. How was I supposed to know someone so small could be so strong?"

"Dude. He told you about the basilisk. Did you really think he was a pussy?"

"Basilisk?" Kurt and Tina asked together.

Finn lit up at the question. As Finn told them the story Harry had shared, Mike and Puck exchanged a look. At least for the moment, Finn was back to how he had been at the beginning of the week when magic was the best thing ever. Hopefully, he would stay that way.


	17. Chapter 17

The days following the fight between Harry and Finn passed without incident, though not without tension between the two groups. Finn was way less antagonistic about magic and even went so far as to ask for help from the wizards in doing things around camp. While most took this as a good sign, Puck could tell it only aggravated Harry more. The wizard never said anything but Puck had gotten better at reading his boyfriend and knew Harry was not going to be friends with Finn anytime soon. Harry just took to avoiding the tall boy whenever possible, though Puck wasn't sure anyone but him noticed.

When everyone in camp was safe and the problem of food was solved the main question was what's next. It was decided that they would explore the island to try and find a sign of the missing passengers or anything that would help them escape the island. The weapons training escalated for all of the glee kids until they were each comfortable using a weapon to protect themselves. Draco, it turned out, was already proficient with the sword for some reason he had yet to share.

Puck was taught more offensive and defensive spells in addition to the odd collection of spells he was gaining when ever one of the wizards had the inspiration to teach him something out side of normal lessons. The lessons had been Neville's idea, but the tests had been Luna's. Personally, Puck thought the girl just wanted to torture him. Luna said that because he was learning the spells so much faster than they were taught in a school that he needed quizzes to make sure he was learning them properly.

In the end it was another week before they started venturing out into the island in small search parties. A group would leave in the morning with at least one wizard, not including Puck, to apparate them. According to Harry, they could only apparate to places they had been so they would leave in the morning, search, then come back at night to report what ever they found to the rest of the group and the next day they would start from the place they had stopped the day before.

The system wasn't perfect, but it worked well enough. Everyone was pulling their weight and it helped ease the tension that came from the argument between Finn and Harry. Kurt, Tina, Draco and Luna never went out on the search parties, but they always made sure the camp was clean and there was food ready for when they returned with news. On the days they came back hurt, they were ready with salves that Draco was making with the plants Neville supplied.

The search parties were grueling and dangerous. More than once they apparated too close to an aggressive creature. Puck grew adept at protective shields and non lethal defense. They never killed the animals they came across of their searches, something that Neville insisted on but no one else argued with. Most of the time they were coming across rare or extinct species, fantastic creatures that Puck had never dreamed of. It was exciting and wonderful this new world they were exploring.

Before they knew it a month had passed since they had all boarded a plane heading to New York and still they found no sign of anyone else on the island. They had worked their way through the jungle, forest, desert and swamp biomes in the last two weeks, and found nothing useful. Currently they were exploring the plains. The group had left that morning with Harry heading the search while Puck stayed behind at camp intending to learn some more transfiguration with Luna. He was having trouble with inanimate to animate transfiguration so today he would be working on changing a stone into a hedgehog.

Harry had left that morning with Mike, Neville and Hulk. It was pretty much a unspoken rule that if Harry was going, Finn was staying and vise versa. Puck was surprised how well things were going between him and Harry. He was used to his relationships dying with in a week or so because of something he said or did. Puck didn't really know if was Harry or the environment that was the reason for their success, but he was thinking it was Harry. Whenever they got in arguments because of something stupid Puck would say, Harry would push right back. It made for some great make-ups afterwards.

Puck made his way out of what he now thought of as his home with Layla wrapped around his shoulders. She was growing far more quickly than Harry had guessed and they to had _Accio_ small rodents into their tent just to keep her fed. She had already grown about a foot in the last three weeks so she was now two feet long. Her wings were getting bigger too, over six inches each now, still not strong enough for flight, but Puck knew it wasn't far off. She kept trying to fly off the couch or his or Harry's shoulders, but mostly ended up gliding to the ground, much to her disappointment.

Luna was already waiting for him in the area they used for lessons, both magical and physical when he arrived.

"Layla, you can go exploring, but don't go to far," he told the snake and waited for her to glide down from his shoulders to the grass. He got a affirmative hiss from the baby as she started to slither away. Weeks of one-sided conversations and help from Harry had given the teen a basic understanding of the tones of Parseltongue. He couldn't understand the words but he could interpret the sounds and body language better with practice. "And no scaring Finnessa again!" He didn't get an answer to that one, not that he had expected it. The baby couatl had taken a dislike to the taller teen and enjoyed slithering over him when he wasn't expecting it. Puck had a feeling Harry was behind that particular behavior.

"Are you ready, Noah?"

Puck groaned. "It's Puck," he mumbled uselessly for what felt like the thousandth time.

"Have you been practicing," Luna asked, completely ignoring the correction.

"You know it. I'm going to rock this, just wait. I just need to figure out how to make it the right color."

"Are you keeping a picture of the hedgehog in your mind?"

"Yeah. I don't know when this would ever be useful anyway," Puck whined a bit.

"Noah. You have to start small if you want to be able to use more advanced Transfiguration, and I know you want to become an animagus. You have already succeeded in animal to object, and after you get object to animal we can approach human transfiguration which will include animagus. It's all connected," Luna told him patiently.

"I know. I know."

"You are putting to much pressure on yourself. You are already so far ahead of what most people are a month after learning. You don't need to rush, and if you do you might end up hurting yourself. We all know you can do it, so don't worry so much."

Puck nodded. He knew what she was saying was true. They all told him he was pushing himself too hard, but he just wanted to learn as much as possible as fast as possible. Puck had gotten so used to getting spells with such little effort that actually getting stuck on one was bothering him. He was well on his way to becoming a real bad ass, no where near Harry's level, but then even Neville and Luna weren't at that level so Puck wasn't bothered by it. The teen took a deep breath, rolling his shoulders and relaxing before attempting the spell.

They worked together for a while, each try an improvement on the last until he finally had a perfect little hedgehog rolling around in the grass. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Layla approaching and quickly scooped up the rodent before she could catch it. They had been having a hard time convincing her not to eat the practice animals and Puck didn't want to chance it.

"See, Noah, you've got it," Luna praised him.

"Of course I do, I'm awesome. What's next?"

Luna just smiled dreamily at the teen. "A quiz."

Puck dropped his head back and groaned. "Do I have to?"

"You have to make sure you are using all the right lessons and applying them. For instance if a Fanged Birchbee came up behind you and you tried to transfigure a stone into a Dorfinkle, but it came out blue instead of the normal pink then you know what would happen."

"Uh- yeah, of course. That would be...bad?"

"Terrible, Noah. That would be absolutely dreadful. Everyone knows that a Fanged Birchbee is frightened of a blue Dorfinkle, but attracted to a pink one. Really, Noah you need to pay more attention in your lessons.," Luna chastised him.

Puck rubbed his hand through his hair which was already loosing its mohawk. No matter how much time he spent with the oddly cool girl he still never got used to how seriously she took her made up creatures. He had been assured by Harry and even Neville that they didn't exist after he had sat for an hour listening to her explain in detail why one never used pepper near a Gorpolle. When he had brought it up to Harry that night, his boyfriend explained that Luna was a little eccentric, but in the best ways. Puck couldn't help but agree with that. The little blonde girl was always friendly and patient, if a bit loopy.

Luckily the dreaded test was preempted by Kurt's call for lunch. They both headed over to the common area, Puck scooping up Layla along the way. He listened to her hiss happily, informing him of what she had been doing all day, he assumed. Puck sat on his and Harry's couch, which was now midnight blue with light blue cushions and rainbow pillows. Puck may or may not have went a little overboard when he learned the charm to change objects colors. Harry had won the argument on keeping the tent tan, but Puck got to decorate their couch. Layla loved it because she could camouflage herself on it.

The diet of the camp basically was narrowed down to what ever they could catch. Kurt, Luna and Tina kept the camp full of fresh fruit and edible plants but their meat was fish or whatever Neville could hunt. On the days Harry stayed at camp, Hulk would disappear for a while and always return with a meal that he would split with the humans, allowing them to butcher and preserve they parts they would eat. Kurt became the unofficial cook and Puck was silently surprised at the different meals the boy came up with using what little they had.

Today their lunch was grilled fish with a fresh salad. Neville had set up a small garden in the camp to make sure they always had a few different plants on hand including both medicinal and edible ones. The wizard would collect the plants while on the search and then transplant them when he returned. Neville tried explaining Herbology to Puck, but without many magical plants he couldn't really do much. He did show Tina and Kurt how to keep up the garden though and it was going strong with their attention.

"Thanks for lunch, Kurtie," Luna said into the comfortable silence as everyone ate.

"You're welcome, Luna. How are your lessons going?"

"Oh, very well. Noah is a perfect student!"

Puck beamed while Tina and Kurt snickered. "Noah?"

"Of course. He always listens and does well."

Kurt looked disbelieving at Puck. "I'm sure. It's amazing how much can change in such a short time." Kurt looked back to Luna. "Do you think we will have time to go over some of my designs today?"

"Of course. I was thinking of setting a fun lesson for Noah after lunch, so while he works on that we can go over some of your drawings," Luna told him with delight. The pair had decided to start making clothes together. Personally, Puck would never be caught dead in any of their 'masterpieces' but to each their own.

"What fun lesson," Puck asked, hoping to avoid a conversation about clothes.

"I can't ruin the surprise, Noah. You'll have to wait until after your quiz. Now, Kurt, I was thinking of a skirt with animated Piranhas. Thoughts?"

Puck pretty much tuned out right there. He sifted away from the pair as they moved into colors and lengths for the fish skirt. Taking his plate with him, Puck moved closer to where Draco was sitting on couch near the opposite end. He ended up disturbing Layla with his shifting, and offered a piece of the fish in apology. Draco seemed to be writing in a journal that must have come from the ones Luna had made for Kurt.

"So, Draco." Draco looked up with a slight glare, which seemed to be the friendliest expression in his repertoire. "Whatcha doing, dude."

Draco gave a large dramatic sigh and tossed his pen to the journal before setting them aside. "I am attempting to get us out of this Morgana forsaken hell hole."

Puck raised an eyebrow. "With a diary?"

"It's not a diary, it's a journal. And yes, I will use it to leave. I'm not going to even try to explain it, so don't ask," Draco sneered.

Puck held his hands up in supplication, used to the attitude by now. "Alright, man. No worries. I was actually going to ask a question about something you said the other day about potions."

Draco sighed again, but looked intrigued and motioned for Puck to continue. It had soon become clear to the teen that any question about potions should be directed to the Slytherin even if you had to brave the unconcealed condescension. The rest of the lunch flowed smoothly as he talked with Draco and soon Puck was taking Luna's test. The test consisted of any random spell he had learned since he stepped foot on the island. He was getting better at remembering them, and the test really did help even though he would never admit it.

After the test Luna had him sit down on the ground and went and retrieved a large piece of wood from her tent and set it in front of him.

"I was talking with Kurtie about your happy club, and he was telling me you played the guitar." Puck perked up at this. One of the many things he missed about home was his guitar. They still sung around camp but there were no instruments. "Now, this spell is advanced so don't worry if you don't get it right away. You will need to alter the first product until it fits. I never actually learned guitar since Daddy thought it was it was a much better idea for me to learn the vuvuzela. Don't worry, I'm sure the guitar is almost as good as the vuvuzela," Luna assured him. "This spell only works if you can picture every curve and edge of the instrument. If it's not right, just finite it and start again."

Puck had not been more excited for a spell since Harry told him he would be learning the Patronus soon. Luna instructed him to close his eyes, relax, clear his mind and just imagine a guitar. How it feels under his finger, the sounds it makes as he played notes, how it fit in his grip. When he had a complete mental image, Luna told him the spell and he cast it at the piece of wood. Puck opened his eyes and immediately frowned. The shape was wrong, but in subtle ways. He picked up the instruments and tested a few notes, but they came out garbled because of the warped shape. This was going to be more difficult than he thought.

Luna wandered away to meet Kurt after the third attempt, assuring him that he had the wand movement and pronunciation right so he just needed to work on his mental image. He was sitting in the quiet, working on his guitar when he heard voices come from beyond the wards. Startled, Puck looked up to see two people walking toward them, but not at them. It was clear they couldn't see the camp, even though Puck could see them. The teen's jaw dropped when he recognized one of the voices.

"Will you cease your nonsensical blathering, woman," a mans voice sounded.

"Now listen here, Dracula. No one tells Sue Sylvester to shut up! Now, if you weren't impotent we would be out of here already."

"I am not impotent! I have already explained, which your feeble and narcissistic mind is some how unable to grasp. When I find a wand, or my students you will see the truth."

"You say that, leech, but Sue Sylvester believes nothing without proof."

The man sighed. "For the final time, I am not a vampire. Hence the walking in the sun. Were the Patroni not proof enough?"

"Smoke and mirrors. Saw the same thing at the county fair before I had it shut down for gross negligence. They neglected to make me County Fair Queen, then refused to bow before my greatne-"

"Silence!" The man hissed. They had reached the wards while Puck watched them bicker, amused at someone actually keeping up with the Coach. The man came to a stop at the outer edge of the wards and was holding his hands up as if feeling at the invisible barrier. Puck was able to get a good look at the pair. Their clothes were dirty and ripped in some places, and it looked like they had been put through the ringer on the way here.

"Oh, God. Are you a mime?"

"I said silence! We are here. These are wards, I can recognize Potter's signature. Of course he survived," the tall man finished with a grumble before speaking louder. "Potter, if you are standing there mocking me you will have detention until end of term, you understand me?"

Puck snickered, but ran over to the common area. "Luna, there are people at the edge of the wards."

"Oh, visitors! We are going to need tea!" the girl claimed with delight and ran to her tent. Puck stared at her retreating back for a moment, before blinking once and heading to find Draco. He scooped Layla off her couch, wanting her close in case the man with Coach wasn't friendly, though he suspected it was the Professor that Draco was always praising. He found the blonde wizard in the garden, surveying the plants and writing in his journal.

"Draco, there are people at the edge of the wards. Our coach and a tall, pale guy with long black hair."

The boy didn't reply, but immediately turned to where Puck had been earlier and walked quickly in that direction. Puck jogged to keep up with Draco, who passed through the wards without stopping. Puck followed outside of the wards with the other teen to face the two adults.

"Professor Snape. It is good to see you, Sir," Draco greeted the man.

"Draco," the man nodded slightly in greeting. "Why are we still outside of your wards?"

"They are Potter's and Longbottom's, Professor, and they are out at the moment. I'll have Lovegood send a message to get them here right away, sir."

"Mohawk! Report!" the Coach commanded upon seeing Puck cross out of the wards, cutting off any words the man was about to reply.

Puck sent a glare to Draco when he snickered, but was already answering Coach Sylvester. "All of our people survived the crash. We set up camp here about three weeks ago, and have been sending out search parties looking for anything to aide our escape. No leads so far, and you are the first people we have seen after the first night on the island. The rest disappeared with no trace of them. The island we occupy is magical and a wizard Harry Potter was put in charge to lead our camp," Puck summarized.

"Really, Draco, you are allowed Potter to take the leadership position?" Snape drawled causing the blonde to tense.

"I lost my wand in the crash, sir. He has been...adequate. Not all of our people survived Professor. Potter reported a Ravenclaw on the beach he landed on wasn't able to be saved. The other hasn't been found."

"Please tell me why there is a muggle with a wand, while you are without," the man said, with a pointed look to the wand still in Puck's hand.

"I'm right here. I can answer that for myself," Puck cut in, angry at being ignored.

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah. I'm not a muggle, I'm a wizard."

"You are not one of my students, and I was informed before boarding that the only other wizard on the airplane was an Auror, which you clearly are not. Now, relinquish the wand and will discuss the punishment for impersonating a wizard and being found in the possession of a wizarding artifact."

Puck stepped back clutching his wand tighter and Layla reared back and hissed at the man threatening her Daddy.

"The snake will have to go as well. Muggles are not allowed to keep magical creatures as pets."

Puck stood straighter, and flexed at the unarmed wizard. Contrary to popular belief, Puck wasn't stupid. Harry had told him a little about Snape, basically the man was a bastard, but still one of the good guys. Well, that and Harry had received a good amount of his training from the man in front of him. If Snape had his wand, Puck would probably waited for Harry, but at the moment the man was practically defenseless yet still threatening to take away not only his wand but his snake as well. Puck felt no guilt at using his size to try and intimidate the taller, yet clearly weaker man. "Who the fuck do you think you are, dude?," Puck yelled. "You aren't taking my damned wand and you sure as hell aren't taking Layla."

" _Layla_ ," Snape sneered."Only a muggle would find an extinct extremely powerful magical snake and name it something as common as _Layla_."

Puck snorted. "Wait until you meet Hulk."

"Enough! Hand over the magical items, boy."

Puck was pissed, furious even. The man shows up out of no where, demands his wand, threatens him and calls his daughter an item or pet. That was probably why when Snape stepped forward to snatch his wand, Puck acted on the training that had been drilled into him over the last three weeks. Seconds later, the man hit the ground face first, completely frozen.

Draco seethed and opened his mouth in what Puck assumed would be a scathing rant, but Puck cut him off before he could get started. "No, don't start, Draco. That was his fault. Stay here with them, I'm going to make sure Luna sent the group a message."

Draco glared, but stayed silent. Puck turned in the direction of the wards and made his way back to Luna. He found the girl in the common area setting up a tea pot and cups. "Luna, did you call Harry?"

"Oh, you're right, Noah, he will want tea as well." Luna raised her wand and her rabbit patronus appeared. "Harry and company, please return to camp immediately." With that the bunny sped off. "Now, Noah, where are our guests?"

"They couldn't come inside the wards and, well, I may have, through no fault of my own, petrified your teacher."

"Noah!" both Luna and Kurt exclaimed.

"It wasn't my fault, he tried to take my wand! Then he tried to take Layla!"

"Who tried to take Layla?" Harry growled from behind him and Puck whipped around to see the just apparated search party. Harry reached for the snake still around Puck's shoulders and started hissing to her quickly as she slid off of Puck and on to him. "Snape!" Harry yelped after a moment of conversation. "Snape is here? Where?"

"Um... on the ground outside of the wards," Puck answered sheepishly.

"The ground?" Harry asked with amusement.

Puck shrugged. "He threatened Layla."

Harry looked at him for a moment before grinning and stealing a quick kiss. "Good job," Harry praised while placing the couatl around his neck. "Let's go see what the git has to say for himself. The rest of you stay here while I bring them in. Snape is going to be pissed enough without all of you there to see him beaten by a teenager. Lead the way, Puck?"

Puck smiled back at his boyfriend. "Yes, Deer."

Harry grinned at the nickname Puck had chosen after seeing the green eyed wizard's animagus form. In the weeks since Puck had first seen Xerneas, Harry had apparated them to the grassy hills where they started their journey to the inner island and transformed so Puck could see him in all his glory. Watching the huge animal chase and be chased by Hulk was amazing, and it made Puck even more determined to become an animagus. He spent lots of free time imagining what his form would be. That was another reason he was looking forward to learning the Patronus soon. Puck knew that just because his Patronus was a certain animal, didn't mean his animagus would be the same, but it would hopefully at least give him an idea.

As soon as the couple passed through the barrier Coach Sylvester was demanding answers.

"You there, Scarface. Whats Mohawk done to the leech?" the coach barked.

"Scarface?" Harry mumbled, before speaking louder. "It's just a misunderstanding, ma'am. I'll have it cleared up in no time." Puck watched as Harry placed himself between him and the teacher before cancelling the spell Puck had cast.

Snape was on his feet in seconds, snarling at the couple. "Why you little- Potter? Move aside, Potter. That boy attacked me!"

"I have it on good authority you attacked first, Snape. Why don't you just calm down and we can get you and your friend inside the wards and fixed up. You both look like you have had quite the adventure," Harry finished with a slightly mocking grin.

"Good authority? Whose authority," the man snapped.

"Puck's," Harry said with a thumb toward the boy, "and Layla," Harry finished pointing at the couatl.

"Puck? Layla? Are you quite done, Potter?" Puck watched as the man's eyes flicked between the pair of teens before understanding lit his face and he groaned. "Really, Potter?"

Harry just shrugged. "So, you want to come in or not? You know you can't pass through if you mean any harm to anyone tied into the wards. That includes Puck," Harry clarified.

"Yes, I am quite aware of what it means, Potter, since it was I who taught you warding," the man snapped. "Fine, let us in. I will be expecting explanations, Potter. I know what boy wasn't on the plane."

"He was on the plane, he just wasn't a wizard at the time."

Snape raised an eyebrow at that but Harry didn't expand. He just raised his wand and tied the two adults into the wards so they were finally able to see through the invisibility barrier.

"Big enough, Potter?"

Harry walked side by side with Snape, Draco falling just behind the teacher. Puck walked next to Coach Sylvester who was eerily quiet while taking in the now visible camp. They walked in though the large empty clearing between the tents that they used for training and lessons and headed to the common area in the middle. The rest of the group were waiting for them, and two chairs had been added to the couches that were already occupied by the teenagers.

"There were nine of us, Snape. Not to mention Hulk who takes up his fair share of space. We needed a protected space big enough to move around in comfortably since we don't know how long we will be here."

"Do I even want to know what Hulk is, Potter?"

Harry pointed to the giant green not-wolf that had laid in his usually spot next to their tent. "That's Hulk."

"A Cu-Sith, Potter? An extinct guardian of Faery Land and you chose to call him Hulk?"

Hulk raised from his spot and trotted over to the new comers. He stood near Harry and sniffed at the two adults, giving them an appraising look.

"I named him," Puck spoke up with a defiant look at Snape.

"Of course you did. What else would one expect from a boy named Puck," Snape replied with a superior tone, looking down his long crooked nose at the teen.

"It's better than Severus," Puck shot back, recalling the name Harry had told him.

"How dare you, you insolent whelp. You will speak to me with respect, and you most certainly do not have permission to use my given name, boy."

"Professor!" Neville exclaimed loudly, breaking the tension between the two. "It's good to see you made it. Why don't you come sit down and we can get you and Ms.-"

"The name is Coach Sylvester, Crumpets," she announced as she made her way to a large overstuffed chair and sat regally.

"Alright. We can get you and Ms. Sylvester looked at," Neville finished.

Puck allowed Harry to drag him away from the glaring man and onto their couch. Snape eyed the oddly colored couch with distaste, but sat in the offered chair anyway.

"We are not greatly injured, Longbottom. I would prefer to have some sense of what has been going on here for the last month."

"Still, Professor. You both look like you've had a rough go of it. Harry's good at first-aid and Draco has been making potions and salves so it wouldn't hurt to get you both checked over," Neville reasoned.

"Shut it, Vlad, let the kids fix us up. Hop to it, Scarface! Wiggle your nose or whatever, but if I end up a toad there will be burning, you understand, Samantha?"

Harry shot a glance at Puck and mouthed "Samantha?", but started casting diagnostics anyway while Draco went and fetched the supply of healing concoctions he had made.

"Coach? Do you mind if I ask what took you so long to get here," Kurt asked tentatively.

"Why, Porcelain, I didn't see you there hiding behind Frankenteen. Of course you can ask, Lady Lips. We were captured."


End file.
